


The Duke's Son

by Melinaa



Category: Layton Kyouju Series | Professor Layton Series
Genre: F/M, More characters to be added, Sad and Happy, Sorry guys, but we all know how it end, happy with a sag ending, how Sophia and Anton fell in love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-20
Updated: 2019-08-18
Packaged: 2020-01-22 20:41:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 22,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18535111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Melinaa/pseuds/Melinaa
Summary: Folsense, 1922. It is spring and another boring ball awaits Anton, the eldest son of Duke Herzen. Though the ball is to celebrate his birthday, the Duke is keen on his son finally finding a wife. But Anton sees that a bit differently and instead envies his younger brother who doesn't have to bother about these things yet.But when Anton meets this young woman, he slowly begins to fall in love with her, and Sophia soon experiences the same feelings.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!  
> After playing Pandora's Boy again after years, I absolutely fell in love with Anton and Sophia, and that is how this story was created during loooong nights rather quickly.  
> I'll be uploading a chapter every Saturday but it will only be six chapters. It's a short story because they didn't have a lot of time together... sadly...  
> I hope you like it! I'm sorry if there happen to be any mistakes!

_“Well, look who I ran into," crowed Coincidence.  
"Please," flirted Fate, "this was meant to be."_

_\- Joseph Gordon-Levitt,  
“The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories, Vol. 1”_

*

Chapter 1

*

The giant ballroom was vibrating with the voices of people who were without exception dressed in their best clothes, the air was impregnated with occasional laughter, and the dancers created a truly vivid atmosphere. The floors and walls had been cleaned to the bitter end and were practically sparkling in gold and silver. Tables filled with more food than could be eaten this very evening lined the long sides of the ballroom where butlers would constantly serve new delicious dishes and clear away the empty plates. The people were enjoying each other’s company while celebrating the birthday of Duke Herzen.  

But it was fool’s gold, at least to Anton, their eldest son.

It wasn’t the first ball of these kinds Anton had had to endure recently. Since he had come of age three years ago, there had been more and more of these festivities, and the parties were becoming bigger and bigger the more money his father earned. He was urging him on to finally get a wife, but how should he find _the one_? He wouldn’t be marrying just anyone. She had to be something special.

What did he want with all these women who laughed on the quiet, and tried to seduce him with nice dressed, giving him the glad eye and an insincere smile while all they wanted was the Herzen’s fortune he would inherit one day?

Standing beside his father’s throne, Anton sighed while his eyes were searching the crowd for his little brother Fredrich who had vanished some time ago. He envied the fifteen-year-old who wouldn’t inherit a throne one day and was still young enough to not have to care about such things as marriage.

Anton didn’t understand why he couldn’t undertake the duty of the throne alone when his father would retire. He was perfectly capable of handling the city on his own and could defend it from potential enemies. And then, one day he would find a wife to have children who would one day be the heir to the throne. But not now.

“Anthony, you haven’t even danced once this evening! Go and find yourself a nice girl!” his father suddenly growled, ripping him from his thoughts. He rolled his eyes. He couldn’t stand that anymore!

His eyes skimmed over the crowd once more. He noticed the giggling girls and women looking up at him expectantly, but he turned away without a second glance. “I haven’t found anyone yet whom I would like to dance with, father,” he merely replied and straightened himself once again. His father didn’t reply, just gave him a scolding look.  

Anton sighed. He would just endure this ball like every ball before.

*

“It must be all of Folsense!”

“I bet even more people are here.”

Sophia looked at her older sister Abigail in amazement. “I have never seen so many people at one place!”

“Me neither, Sophie,” Abigail agreed and looked around.

Sophia grinned knowingly. “Are we searching for someone, hm Abby?” she teased her sister who only rolled her eyes in reply.

“I bet you’d be just the same!” The two of them giggled when suddenly someone approached them from behind.

“There you are! I have already been searching for you!” A man in his twenties with black hair and sparkling blue eyes had come up to them.

Sophia smiled at him friendly while Abigail beamed at him. “Marcus! We just arrived. Mother and father were talking endlessly to some friends in the foyer and we couldn’t get away until now,” she explained, her eyes sparkling at the sight of the man. The two of them had known each other already for quite a while and Sophia’s and Abigail’s entire family was only waiting for Marcus to propose to Abigail.

He kissed the back of their hands as a greeting, lingering longer at Abigail’s, of course. The infatuation between the two was impossible not to notice while they stared love-struck at each other as if nothing around them really existed.

Sophia cleared her throat. “I’m here, too, you know?” She laughed when both of them flinched like they had just woken up from a dream.

They talked for a little while about everything and nothing until Marcus excused himself to get them something to drink. Abigail’s gaze followed him until he was out of sight, and Sophia chuckled. “When will he finally propose to you? I’m the first you will tell, right?”

“Of course!” Abby laid a hand over her heart. “I promise. He already asked father, so it can’t take too long.” She winked at Sophia. “Maybe we can find someone for you tonight, too, hm?”

She huffed. “And who would you suggest, Abby?” she asked and grinned challengingly.

“Hmm.” She tipped with a finger against her chin before she smirked. “How about Earl Herzen? I heard he’s searching for a wife. I would go for him myself, but unfortunately…”

“Yes, _unfortunately_.” Sophia laughed, stressing the word “unfortunately”. “The Earl himself. You must be crazy!”

“Who is crazy?” Marcus had appeared again and handed each of the sisters a glass. He stepped next to Abigail and interlaced their fingers. Sophia smiled at the fond gesture.

“Abby is. Are you sure you want to marry her?” she joked.

“Absolutely sure. Abby, would you tell me why your dear sister thinks so badly of you?” he asked teasingly but with a smile.

“I merely offered her to find someone for her tonight and suggested Earl Herzen. I mean, he is good-looking, he is rich, he is very polite and a wonderful dancer and fencer. Of what I have heard, of course.”

“You think him to be good-looking?” Marcus laughed. “Do I have to feel threatened by him, my dear?”

“Of course not. He might be good-looking, but you are still the best-looking man I know.” She smiled fondly, and they gazed at each other lovingly before exchanging a quick kiss.

Sophia quickly glanced at the other side of the grand ballroom. There were the throne where Duke Herzen was seated and his first-born son, Anthony Herzen, was standing next to him. Everyone knew him, and Sophia, of course, wasn’t an exception. She would be lying if she said that she didn’t find him to be good-looking.

“He looks… acceptable,” she said stubbornly turning her eyes back to her sister and her soon-to-be-fiancé. “And you know, I couldn’t care less about the money. We have enough ourselves, more than we could spend. And I would have to get to know him better to find out about the rest,” she replied, her gaze shifting back once more to the young blond man.

*

She couldn’t know that the little Earl Herzen, Anthony’s brother, had overheard the conversation. He was hurrying through the ballroom towards his brother to tell him what he had just heard. He knew that Anton never wanted to marry someone who just wanted his money or who might be of influence for the city. No, he wanted to marry because of love, something their parents didn’t exactly agree on.

“Freddie, there you are. Where have you been?” Anton asked worried when his younger brother approached him. He waved so Anton would lean down since he was a great deal smaller even though he was only a few years younger.

“I found a girl you might like,” he whispered into his big brother’s ear and winked at him, but he merely rose an eyebrow.

“Freddie, that is none of your business. Please, don’t worry about something like this,” Anton replied smiling. He was happy that his brother cared so much about him, but the he really shouldn’t have to think about something like this. It was Anton’s problem, after all, not his.

But Fredrich wouldn’t give up. He tugged at the sleeve of his brother’s robes fiercely. “No, really! She said she didn’t care about money! Come on, just take one look at her!”

Anton rolled his eyes and tried to free his arm. “Freddie, stop it. People are looking.”

“Then come with me,” the little boy insisted not letting go of Anton’s sleeve. “One look and I’ll stop.”

“Anthony, Fredrich, behave! What is going on there?” their father suddenly scolded them. Fredrich flinched.

“Nothing, father. Fredrich, what was it you wanted to show me?” Anton replied to get his brother out of the uncomfortable situation. The boy always wanted to be perfect to please his father and get his attention. Anton just wanted to protect him.

Fredrich had already forgotten about his father, now that he could happily drag his older brother with him. When they were halfway through the huge room, he stopped and pointed at someone. “There. Can you see the woman with the purple hair? That is her. What do you think?”

Anton eyed her carefully, making sure his gaze didn’t stay on her too long so no one would get suspicious. But as he looked at her, it was fairly easy to forget the chattering around him which would usually annoy him endlessly.

She was looking at something Anton couldn’t see, maybe one of the dancing couples. But he could see, even from further away, that her eyes were sparkling, and she was smiling happily. Her delicate fingers were wrapped around a glass of champagne, and she looked beautiful in the light pink dress she was wearing. It must swirl around her body wonderfully while dancing.

His bubble of dreamy thoughts popped abruptly as a new song started to play and another purple-haired woman and a man with black hair approached her, and the man asked her to dance. Anton could see how she blushed despite the distance between them when she put her glass away and accepted his offer smiling. It seemed like she already was in a relationship. Anton would never take what belonged to others. He turned away.

“Earth to Anton?” Fredrich suddenly asked. He had almost forgotten about the little one.

He shook his head. “Thanks, Freddie, but I think she is taken.” He wanted to return to his previous place by his parents’ thrones but Fredrich held him back.

“No, wait! You can’t know that! Stop being so damn stubborn!” he objected annoyed and kept holding onto his brother’s sleeve tightly. Anton groaned. When would the little tot finally give up?

“Alright, let me put it another way,” Fredrich suddenly said seriously. Anton tilted his head at him. “If you refuse to dance the entire evening again, father will murder you.” Anton thought to see how a smirk tugged on the corner of his brother’s mouth. He narrowed his eyes. He was right, their mother would surely murder him.

Anton sighed. “Father would like to murder me anyway because I haven’t gotten myself a wife yet,” Anton hissed but knew that both of them were equally stubborn, and it would be him to give in in the end because he was the older and wiser one and supposed to do so.

“Alright, you won,” he sighed, when Freddie wouldn’t do as much as stare at him challengingly, his eyes searching the crowd for the purple-haired girl. He found her easily, it felt like his gaze was automatically drawn to her. Yet he stepped through the crowd, slowly but surely making his way towards the other purple-haired woman. He suspected they were related, and she might come back to this place. It was his best guess as he didn’t want to stand around and fear some other woman might convince him to dance. Damn Freddie, who had aroused his curiosity.

Freddie wouldn’t leave his side, he was skipping along, happy that he had been able to convince his brother. After all, it would spare them both a scolding by their father.  

*

Laughing exuberantly Sophia came back from the dance floor, Marcus right behind her. “I didn’t know he could dance so well!” she exclaimed gasping.

Abby chuckled and handed her sister her glass. “I know that he is a wonderful dancer. Here, drink something, you look like you need it!”

“I take it as a compliment, thank you very much, Sophia. Dear, would you like to dance with me again?” He gazed at his beloved who nodded enthusiastically.

“Just let me finish my drink with my sister and…” Her voice failed halfway through her sentence when she had turned her eyes towards her sister. Instead, her eyes grew wide.

Sophia looked alarmed. “Please tell me I didn’t spill anything on my dress!”

Abby could only shake her head before Sophia heard a low “Hello” from behind her. Upon turning around, she thought to have seen a smile tugging on her sister’s lips but discarded the thought quickly.

Well, too quickly. Because Anthony Herzen was standing right behind her and was smiling at her. Sophia immediately curtsied to him. “Good evening, Lord Herzen,” she greeted him politely. He slightly bowed his head but remained silent. She grew nervous rather quickly. What was the matter? “Can I help you, Lord Herzen?”

“I believe it to be quite unfair that you know my name while I don’t know yours. Would you care to tell me, Miss?” he asked her. Sophia was momentarily taken aback by his smooth voice and polite manners. But, then again, of course he had to be polite, he was the heir to a throne after all. Yet it was his voice which caused a shiver to run down her spine.

She cleared her throat when she could hear her sister gasp behind her and prayed that the Earl hadn’t noticed it. “Sophia,” she answered and saw how his smile widened.

“Indeed, a lovely name. Would you like to dance with me, Miss Sophia?” He offered her his hand and waited patiently for her to answer. “You, of course, don’t have to if you don’t want to,” he added but Sophia had already made her decision.

“I would like that very much, Lord Herzen,” she answered and couldn’t hide a smile herself. He wanted to dance! With her! When he led her to the middle of the dance floor, she looked back at her sister who stood there with a gaping mouth and the happiest but also most overwhelmed expression Sophia had ever seen. And she was sure she looked just the same.  
Abby leaned not so subtly anymore against her soon-to-be-fiancé and sent her a thumbs-up while Marcus quickly kissed the top of her head. It was the last thing Sophia saw before the Earl pulled her around to place his free hand on her back and she stared into his emerald green eyes.

*

What was he doing there?! He had trusted a single sentence his brother might have heard! He didn’t want any of this! But, then again, Freddie was right, if he didn’t at least dance with one woman tonight, his father would murder him. He could stop after one dance. Just one dance. He had endured worse. Like his father’s scolding why he hadn’t gotten himself a wife _again_.

Sophia danced wonderfully. Now he could see that her eyes were of a light blue like the sky on a day in spring. He could sense that she was nervous and found himself smiling at her soothingly. “May I ask, Miss Sophia, what brings you to the castle tonight?” he started a conversation to hopefully take her mind of whatever made her so nervous.

“Your father’s birthday, Lord Herzen,” she answered quickly _. That was indeed a really stupid question, Anton, really_ , he found himself thinking, getting angry at himself. What was going on with him? He never acted like this, so inconsiderately. He noticed that Sophia had looked away. Might it be… him who was making her nervous?

He quickly concentrated when he heard her speaking again. Dancing with her was so simple, he could easily concentrate on her words. “My father is Mr. Mandeville. Duke Herzen and him are colleagues, that is why we were invited, I think,” she added, looking up at him. Anton felt like he might lose himself in her eyes.

“Yes, I remember him. He helps my father with the finances, I believe.”

She shrugged. “I must admit, I don’t know it. My father believes it not to be important for me to know.”

He smiled and twirled her around. She giggled lightly which made his stomach flatter. What was going on here?! “What a shame. It is quite an important task he is taking on, you should know about it, too.”

“Oh, don’t worry, Lord Herzen, I don’t mind. It’s nothing I’m really interested in,” she hurried to explain. That sparked his interest again.

“Would you like to tell me what you are interested in then?” He tilted his head at her attentively. Wait, why did he even care? “And please, you don’t have to address me with Lord. We’re merely chatting a bit.”

She beamed at him and cleared her throat. “All right, Lor… All right.” She shook her head laughing and Anton chuckled quietly. He liked her. He listened closely when she told him about her interests, for example about the horses in their stables, that she liked to go for long rides on sunny afternoons, sometimes with her sister, sometimes alone.

“Your sister. Is she the purple-haired woman you were with?”

Sophia nodded. “Yes, that was Abigail.”

“And who was the man?”

It looked like Sophia had to hide a smile. Anton broke into cold sweat. Was it her fiancé? But he hadn’t seen a ring on her finger! “Marcus Williams. He is her boyfriend and a good friend of the family,” she said slowly after some time of contemplating. Anton had the feeling that she wanted to add more but didn’t dare to. He watched her conflicted face patiently before she leaned in a bit closer. “And it won’t be long anymore until he will propose to my sister,” she whispered grinning as if she was trusting him with a grand secret. Which she basically was.

Anton smiled widely, on the one hand because he was happy for her sister, on the other hand because he wasn’t Sophia’s fiancé. Wait, wait… why?!  
“I hope he will do it soon. I know Baron Williams; he is a loyal man. I have heard nothing less of his son. He will be a good match.”

Sophia smiled. She had such a lovely smile. “He is indeed rather perfect for my sister. He’s been courting her for ages before she agreed on a second meeting with him.” She shook her head chuckling, probably because of the memory. The sound caused a warm feeling to emerge in Anton’s chest. He would like to know more about that. About Sophia’s life in general.

They talked about books they liked, and never before had he met someone who could match the amount of the reading which he did. She had an interesting insight on some books, some they same as his, some different.

They barely noticed how one song ended and another one began playing, they just kept dancing, dance for dance, and talking, song for song, until their feet hurt, and Anton had to bid his good bye to her. He politely kissed her back of her hand like the courtly protocol demanded yet he found his lips lingering a bit longer than it was considered appropriate. When he straightened himself again no one had noticed, but he could see in Sophia’s wonderful cerulean eyes that she, indeed, had.

They had no idea what had happened this evening but each other’s smile followed them in their dreams that very night.

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Winter is coming, and with the time passing, their feelings for each other are growing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And yes, this quote is SO from "Game of Thrones" XD I'm sorry.   
> I hope you enjoy the chapter! :)

_“I want to dance with you._  
I want to dance with you in the rain  
 as much as in every ballroom I will ever enter.  
I want to dance with you  
because dancing with you    
is like flying, and I want to be free.” 

_\- Me_

*

Chapter 2

*

Sophia was desperately trying to comb through her horribly tangled, still partially wet hair. Why did she always forget to braid it when she was out with her horse? She cursed under her breath when she saw the time. She had to get ready to-

“Sophie, there you are! I haven’t seen you all day! Where have you been?” her sister interrupted her task, and she looked up.

Abby was standing in the doorway, as utterly cheerful as always. It was almost getting a bit annoying lately because since she knew that Marcus would soon propose to her she was especially joyful. But Sophia smiled. She was so happy for her sister.

“I’m getting ready,” she explained matter-of-fact while trying to get an especially severe knot out of her hair. She groaned annoyedly. Stupid hair.

“Getting ready? What for?” Abby asked upon entering her sister’s bedroom and taking the brush from her hand. “Here, I’ll help you. I can’t stand by and watch that, it’s pathetic.” She shook her head as she began to brush out Sophia’s hair. “So, what are you getting ready for?”

She sighed, watching her sister’s movements. “I’m, uhm… meeting someone,” she said plainly as if it was nothing special, but she felt her cheeks burning.

She could see in the mirror in front of her how Abby lowered the hairbrush, and a big grin spread on her face. “You are meeting up with Anthony, aren’t you?”

“…yes.”

“And you didn’t tell me!”

That was what she had forgotten to do!

It hadn’t been a full week since the ball when Anton sent her a letter, asking if they could meet again. She had, of course, answered promptly, not having reckoned with ever hearing again from him. Something in her stomach had jumped excitedly upon thinking of seeing him and his lovely smile and hearing his soft voice again and…

“Hey! Earth to Sophia, is someone home?”

Sophia flinched, and Abby couldn’t contain herself and burst out laughing. Sophia frowned.

“Abby, stop it!”

“Aw, you’re too cute, little Sophie. Just like me when I met Marcus,” she chuckled before she returned to brushing her sister’s hair.

“I’m not!” she insisted and crossed her arms in front of her chest. But she could feel the smile tugging at her lips.

“I can see you smiling, Sophie. You’re in love.” Abby gazed at her lovingly. “My little sister is in love… thanks to me! It’s like I knew it!” she triumphed and laughed.

“I said stop it!” Sophia insisted, now chuckling herself. Abby might be right after all…

“All right, all right then… tell me, what will you two do? Any plans?” She stopped running the hairbrush through Sophia’s hair and started playing with it.

“We wanted to go for a walk. Somewhere around the castle probably. I… I don’t want people to notice anything yet,” she explained knotting her fingers together again and again.

Abby dropped Sophia’s hair and raised one eyebrow in such a way only Abby could. How did she do that? “You don’t want people to notice?” she asked amused. “You say that after you and Anton danced the entire evening during his father’s ball where basically half of Folsense attended to? And you can bet that they immediately told their families and friends and they told their families and friends, so entire Folsense should know by now. After all, it was on everyone’s lips that Earl Herzen is searching for a wife…” She winked at her sister smiling while Sophia got into panic. She jumped up.

“What? Wife?! I don’t want to marry him! I mean I just turned twenty, I can’t… I mean I… What if he asks me?! What do I do? He’s the Earl, I can’t just-” She was starting to ramble and paced through the room hectically. She wouldn’t stop until Abby gripped her by her shoulder and spun her around forcing her to look at her.

“Hey! Calm down, I was only teasing you. I’m sorry. Deep breath, all right? In and out. Good. Again, in and out.” She was talking slowly and quietly like Sophia was some wounded animal she had found at the side of the road and wanted to help. It took quite a while. “I didn’t say you have to marry him. Even if he asks, you can still say no, you are absolutely entitled to do so.”

Sophia huffed her face still pale beneath the delicate layer of makeup. “But he’s the Earl! Father wouldn’t approve of that, and you know that as well as I do!”

“But mother would. She will support you and you know that father will always give in in the end. He loves you. Even though this might be about the Duke’s son, it doesn’t change that all of us will support you. All right?”

Sophia took a deep breath and nodded shortly. “All right.” Even though she still looked slightly panicked, her face was taking on a healthier colour again.

Abby smiled. “Great. Now, sit down I wasn’t done with your hair yet. What do you think about braiding it? By the way, when will he arrive?” Not that her hair was that important at the moment, but Abby was trying to distract her sister from her previous thoughts. No one could force her to marry anyone, not even if he happened to be the Duke’s son. If he tried, she would have to intervene. And Anthony Herzen surely wouldn’t like that. Not at all.

Sophia shrugged, on the one hand because she didn’t know when exactly Anton would arrive, on the other hand because she didn’t really care about her hair. He shouldn’t like her for her looks but rather for who she was. “Anton said he would come after lunch. I assume Nikolas will come and tell me when he arrived.”

“Anton, hm? Already calling each other by the first name, I see.” Sophia could see Abby winking at her in the mirror and she chuckled.

“He said I don’t have to say, “Lord Herzen”. I didn’t exactly call him by his first name yet,” she explained. “It… feels a bit odd. You know, with him being the Earl…”

“I’m sure he wouldn’t mind. Otherwise he wouldn’t have said that.” She had finished the braid and was looking at it doubtfully before she loosened it again, when it knocked on the door. “No, you look you best with your hair open. Yes?” she called towards the door.

It was Nikolas, the family’s butler. “Miss Abigail, Miss Sophia,” he greeted them smiling politely. The sisters grinned. They couldn’t recall when exactly Nikolas had started working for their family, so long ago it had been. He was more of a brother to them than a servant though he was way older.

He turned towards Sophia. “Earl Herzen arrived and wishes to see you, Miss Sophia.”

She jumped so suddenly and rushed that Abby had to stifle a laugh. Sophia glared at her. “Stop laughing,” she muttered lowly before she hurried towards the door, not without glancing in the mirror one last time.

Abby followed her suit, her voice ringing with laughter. “I wasn’t-“

“You were!”

“If I may intervene,” Nikolas suddenly interrupted the sister. “You look lovely today, Miss Sophia. I’m sure the Earl will know to honour it properly.”

She blushed lightly. “Thank you.” She smiled at him while walking through the many floors of their home. When they had finally arrived at the staircase towards the foyer, Sophia stopped though. Her hands were shaking and something odd was going on in her stomach. The thoughts from before came to her mind again.

Abby immediately knew what was going on in Sophia’s head. She placed her hands on her sister’s shoulders and smiled at her gently. “Keep calm. Deep breaths. Like Nikolas said, you look lovely, and you are an absolutely incredible person. If he acts stupid, get away. We all will support you. Now, go.” She gave her a gentle push down the stairs.

 

Sophia took a deep breath before she finally entered the grand foyer. She was nervous. Was she supposed to be nervous? Was it normal? Why was she even nervous? She hadn’t been nervous when they had been dancing at the ball. Well, she had been in the beginning, but it had worn off rather quickly.

Her eyes grew wide when she saw that Anton wasn’t alone. No, he was politely chatting with her parents and that not just for a few minutes what it looked. That couldn’t be good.

Sophia couldn’t even do as much as say hello when she heard someone stifle a laugh behind her. She spun around only to see her sister and Nikolas. She glared at Abby.

“Ah, there you are, Sophia, Abigail!” their father exclaimed happily, waving them closer. “I’m sorry I kept you waiting, I simply wanted to exchange a few words with Lord Herzen.” He turned towards Anton. “That was a very nice chat, indeed, Lord Herzen.”

Sophia looked at Anton who wouldn’t keep his eyes away from her. “I deem it an honour talking to you, Mr. and Mrs. Mandeville. I hope we’ll see each other again in the future,” he replied friendly, only glancing at her parents while already turning towards Sophia to greet her properly.

“Miss Sophia, how lovely to see you again,” he smiled at her, these emerald green eyes which had already captured her on the ball managed to fascinate her once again.

He bowed down to pick up a flower bouquet. Sophia’s eyes widened. Neither had she noticed it before nor reckoned with it at all. “Thank you, Lord Herzen,” she replied slowly upon taking the flowers and bowing her head, being clearly overwhelmed, especially when Anton gently took her hand to kiss her knuckles.

Sophia felt herself becoming as red as a tomato. While she indeed found it charming and felt truly flattered, her parents and her sister clearly didn’t have to witness any of this. And her father, what might he say! Oh god… she didn’t dare to think about it, nor did she dare to even cast a glance at him and her mother.

When Anton released her hand and the awkward silence expanded in the room, Nikolas was the saviour of the day. He stepped next to her and pointed at the flower bouquet. “Miss Sophia, would you like me to put these in your room for you? I’ll make sure they get some water.”

Sophia handed him the flowers gladly. “That would be nice, Nikolas. Thank you,” she replied smiling, relieved that the tension had been broken. After a few more awkward words and more or less empty phrases, Sophia and Anton could finally leave the house. She could already hear her parents and especially her sister. _“The Earl Herzen himself! The future Duke! I can’t believe it!”_ She didn’t know who of them would say it first. They would probably throw a party. At least Abby would.

 “I am so sorry for, uhm… what just happened. I had no idea you had already arrived!” she hurried to apologize. She could still feel her cheeks burning. That had been so embarrassing!

But Anton laughed softly. The sound made her look up. It didn’t seem like he minded. “Oh, don’t worry, I had a nice chat with your parents. Especially our mother is lovely. She said I could come over for dinner one day if I wanted.”

Sophia tried to keep herself from chuckling, but she guessed she had failed judging by Anton’s look. “And? Do you want to?” She raised the corner of her mouth for a cheeky grin and winked at him.

He smiled at her and it almost knocked her over. It wasn’t playful or teasing like she had expected but rather full of questions, as if he wasn’t so sure himself, and adoration so clear no even a blind man could miss it. There was also something else Sophia couldn’t quite grasp.

“I hope so,” he said with a low voice, and Sophia hurried to nod and replied that she hoped so, too.

 

Only in the evening, after Anton had brought her home and she had had dinner with her family (with a lot of questions), Sophia had found the time to examine the flower bouquet more closely. It was holding a variety of flowers, but Sophia quickly noticed one thing they had in common: none of these were expensive or rare flowers like roses. Among tulips of various colours, amaryllises, buttercups, sweet maries and occasional forget-me-nots and daisies, she could also spot irises, her favourites.

He had brought her home after hours of talking which had felt like minutes about everything and nothing and had kissed the back of her hand. Just like the night at the ball, his lips had lingered a bit longer, yet Sophia hadn’t minded at all. They had touched throughout the entire day, either having their arms linked together while walking, or sitting so their shoulders or knees would touch. She had flinched when Anton’s hand had suddenly come up and touched her hair. She had been enjoying the landscape while telling him a story of Abby and her when they had been younger and not noticed him moving.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t want to startle you,” he had immediately apologized with this incredible soft voice of his. She had smiled and waited patiently until he had pulled back his hand and placed it on the bench, they had been sitting on, to examine what he had done. She could feel that he had put a flower in her hair behind her ear. “It’s an Iris. It matches with your hair,” he had smiled lovingly, and her heart had felt like it had skipped a beat.

“They are my favourites,” she had replied and lowered her hand again to place it close enough to his so that the tips of their fingers barely grazed each other’s. They beamed, their eyes glistening with feelings none of them were prepared to even think about yet.  

The next morning, a flower bouquet consisting of irises only had been standing in front of her door, and that hadn’t been nearly as hard to explain as the Earl standing in their doorway or the flower in her hair the day before.

*

When they met again, Anton luckily didn’t bring her any grand flower bouquets anymore. He had done so in the beginning until Sophia had told him that, while she was indeed flattered, she was also feeling a bit embarrassed and guilty getting these huge bouquets while she had nothing for him. He had apologized, assuring her that she didn’t need to get him anything but also saying that nothing had been further from his mind than making her uncomfortable and that he would stop. Yet he couldn’t be talked out of bringing her a posy, consisting or irises mostly, whenever they met. And since they met each other regularly, Sophia soon had many flowers in her room, almost too many. But Nikolas did a great job arranging them. It looked lovely and she smiled every time she entered her room.

It was, of course, Abby’s greatest pleasure to tease her sister whenever the opportunity arose and soon, Marcus did the same. Not to mention said dinner to which Anton had joined them where it had _just so happened_ that Marcus had been present, too. Though it had been quite an embarrassing dinner as everyone would constantly tell stories from Sophia’s childhood, it had been amusing. Anton had gotten along with her family so wonderfully; he had always known the right thing to say and never made Sophia uncomfortable… at least not more than she had already been but he had done a great job in soothing her worries.

When he had bid his farewell, it had been Sophia who had sent him some flowers the next morning, some daisies, attached to a note: “ _Thank you for yesterday. It was a wonderful evening_.”

 

With winter approaching it was getting colder and their meetings became lesser because of several events coming up at the Herzen Castle and Anton, as the heir to the throne, had to be present for most of them.

When his birthday came around in November, Sophia gave him a collection of books written by her favourite author. He had already heard about them before she had told him but never gotten around actually read the books. Sophia had wanted to spend the day with him but because of the ball in compliment of his birthday he had been occupied with the organizations and greeting guests, which would stay overnight, the entire day as well as the days before.

 

He thanked her endlessly for the wonderful present while dancing with her the entire night. He barely ever let go of her, only occasionally when his father wanted to talk to him, or he had to greet some important guest. Not that she wanted to let go of him either.

“We will dance the entire night,” she had declared right after they had greeted each other. “Because you usually never dance at these balls. And you need a good laugh. You always look so stern during festivities.”

And he laughed, he laughed so much like he had never had before on any of these balls or other festivities. By the end of the night, his feet hurt from dancing and his mouth from smiling but a warm feeling had spread through his entire body, and this and the red wine were making his head fuzzy, and Sophia’s laugh made something stir in his stomach which he couldn’t quite describe, but he knew that he couldn’t have wished for a better twenty-second birthday.

Later, Freddie only smirked and asked his brother if he could have the throne by way of thanks for being the one initially introducing him to Sophia. Anton chuckled cheerfully (and maybe a bit tipsy) and rumpled up his little brother’s hair (for which he cursed Anton and swore to take revenge on him) before he retired to bed where he then stayed up all night to devour the books Sophia had given him.

 

Christmas rolled around rather quickly, and Sophia invited him to spend Christmas Eve at her home. After he and Freddie had had dinner with their father, which had been a rather rusty affair, they, of course, followed the invitation and went to Sophia’s house since she had kindly invited his brother, too. Anton had tried to prevent him from coming along but there was no point. They were both equally stubborn.

This time, it was Anton’s turn to be uncomfortable as Freddie told embarrassing stories about him. But hearing Sophia’s laugh was worth it. It made this warm and bubbly feeling he had already felt during his birthday arise inside him again even though he hadn’t touched any alcohol.

“Don’t be embarrassed, please. It’s natural behaviour of siblings. We are powerless against it,” she whispered into his ear at some point while Abigail and Fredrich were exchanging embarrassing stories about their siblings happily and took his hand beneath the table. When she noticed his surprised gaze, she winked at him smirking. “Care to pay them back?”

When they left later that night (much, much later but Sophia’s parents had ensured that they didn’t mind at all when the brothers had apologized for staying so long) Anton could barely tear himself away from the lovely warm house and its owners. It was so different from his own home, the cold castle where even the meals with his father felt like a formal affair sometimes.

“Such lovely people,” Freddie commented over and over and their way back, nodding and smiling to himself constantly. “Still no chance for me to get the throne?”

 

During the Christmas ball the next day it was, again, only Sophia he was dancing with. He was barely noticing the people whispering about the possibility of Sophia becoming his wife one day anymore. He had never heard anyone say anything bad about her which would have been worth turning his attention to in order to tell the person to shut up. How could they? She was wonderful, kind, smart and had a head of her own. She looked absolutely stunning, especially tonight, not that he had ever found her to be anything but truly gorgeous.

That evening, Anton wasn’t able to keep his eyes away from her. She had her hair tied up in a bun with only a few strands hanging around her beautiful face and had been dressed in a wonderful dark-red dress with silver embellishments and embroidery, the dress sparkling darkly because of the dim lightening in the room. She matched with his dark red shirt, both of them smiling at the coincidence when he had pointed it out.

The quiet Christmas music, which was being played by the orchestra in the background while it was snowing behind the castle’s grand windows, had created this same cosy atmosphere which he had experienced at her house the night before. It even smelled like Christmas. It was the only fest at the castle which Anton truly enjoyed every year, and it had become even better with Sophia around this year.

Everything was simply perfect. By the end of the night, when most people had already left and only a few remained, they were swaying back and forth to a quiet violin piece. They were closer to each other than normally but none of them seemed to care. He wouldn’t exactly consider this dancing anymore. Their posture had loosened long ago, and Sophia had even gone so far and leaned her head against his shoulder. Anton was holding her close, lowering their entangled hands to relax their arms but he didn’t let go. Nothing would make him let go, he thought while slowly stroking the back of her hand with his thumb.

When he cast a glance at her peaceful face he saw that she had closed her eyes. Anton raised his free hand to gently stroke a strand of hair behind her ear. Her bun had loosened a bit but was still in place. He felt the urgent desire to open her hair and run his fingers through it. She had so wonderful hair. Shaking his head over his thoughts, he placed his hand back on her upper back. He could loosely place it on her waist, but he didn’t dare doing so. He didn’t care that it might be inappropriate, but he did care about her. What if she would find it unfitting or would even be uncomfortable with it? He didn’t want to cause her any distress.

She looked up at him and smiled lazily. “I don’t want the night to end yet. It’s so nice,” she murmured sleepily.

His face lit up. He didn’t need a mirror he could see his reflection in Sophia’s eyes. “Me neither, Sophia. Me neither.” He feared he might go too far now, but he couldn’t stop himself. He laid his free hand onto her cheek and gently pressed his lips to her forehead. He didn’t care about the people seeing them. He just didn’t want her to go. Not now, not tomorrow. Not ever. He wondered. Might she be… _the one_? Could he know that already? They had only known each other for such little time.

When he pulled back, he saw in Sophia’s eyes that he hadn’t gone too far.

His heart skipped a beat and he felt himself falling for her. How couldn’t he? He laid his cheek onto her head when she leaned it against his shoulder again and pulled her closer for the last dance of this night. What wouldn’t he give to be able to know if she was wondering about the same thing as he was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just in case you didn't notice: The flowers were chosen with a reason behind it ^^  
> Amaryllis mean "beauty beyond worth", the red sweet maries mean "love" (obviously) and the white ones symbolize "loyal love". Buttercups mean something like "you are radiant with charm" and tulips are generally a sign of love or even "perfect love". The irises symbolize "eloquence" but we all know why they are there ;) And that is SO Anton, you can't convince me otherwise XD


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Hey, Romeo, I’ll be leaving without you if you don’t come now!” Freddie’s voice ripped him from his thoughts once more and he hurried to enter the carriage behind him. He was definitely trusting his brother to actually leave and making him walk to the castle all the way.  
> He tried his best to put on a neutral face but judging by Freddie’s face he failed miserably. “You’re horrible. Really, Anton.”  
> “Shut up.”  
> But he would continue snickering and teasing his brother while Anton would do his best to ignore him and look out of the window remembering the feeling of Sophia’s lips on his cheek.  
> He realized that he had, indeed, fallen in love with her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys!   
> So, it's Saturday, that means a new chapter! It is... well, I had to change a bunch of stuff, so this chapter actually isn't that necessary but I didn't want to delete it either so... yeah. Some more fluff. If you find this cheesy, just wait for the next chapter xD   
> Have fun reading! ^^

_The flower; it's blooming._  
The flower, the flower; it's blooming.  
It was oh so afraid of the wind that blew, and its un  
noticed and now that flower right there is blooming out.

_*_

Chapter 3 

*

Even in England, the weather was getting better with the months passing. When March came Sophia’s twentieth birthday was approaching and Anton was already thinking since January what he could give her. He wanted the perfect gift but who would have guessed that it would be so hard?!

She wasn’t one who liked grand parties with too many guests who brought extravagant presents that had costed way too much money. She didn’t care about these things. So, in the end, Anton had decided to spend time with her when she had stated that she didn’t want anything. She had invited him over for the afternoon when her family came to have cake and tea, and Anton had probably never answered so many questions in so little time. He had initially wanted to spend the day only with her and not so many annoying family members, but it had turned out that her family was so different from his. After their initial shyness of having the Earl of Folsense sitting at the table had vanished, they had been joking constantly and talking across each other so that it had gotten rather loud and chaotic, and Anton had looked at Sophia in utter amazement when she had told him that it was always like this when her family came together. She had laughed softly when he had been confused. That was what a family could be like?

When Anton had pictured his future life, he had always thought it would be like his parents’ life. Or more like the life after his mother had died years ago. Boring and cold. Filled with meetings with _oh so important_ people and money. All about money. And he had actually been the lucky one because he was the first-born. He had never experienced a lack of attentions from his parents, his father more precisely, like Freddie had most of his life.

Spending time with Sophia and her family came with so many new things, things he had never experienced before. Her family was lovely. He told her so after he had bid his goodbye to her family and she had accompanied him to the door.

She smiled. “I’m glad. I think they like you, too,” she replied smoothly while he took on his coat. Freddie had already gone ahead Anton could hear him pacing back and forth somewhere behind him because he didn’t want to “see the two lovey-dovey lovebirds having to say goodbye” as he had put it. While Sophia’s had chuckled at his comment, Anton had smacked the back of his brother’s head and told him to finally get off and apologized to Sophia. But she had merely shaken her head chuckling and said that her sister was saying the same things and that she was used to it.

“I have one more present for you. I hope you didn’t think I wouldn’t have brought anything. I just wanted to give it to you in private.” He took a little box out of the pocket of his coat and handed it to her.

Her eyes lit up. “ I told you, Anton, you didn’t have to get me a present! But I appreciate it, really. Thank you.” She smiled kindly upon inspecting the box closely and running her fingers around its edges.

He laughed softly. “Open it first before you say such things. I initially had a nicer box for it, but I figured it wouldn’t be too wise to bring it along as it is a lot bigger and… I wasn’t sure if it was to your taste, to be honest.”

She chuckled. “I’m sure I would have liked it. Now, let’s see…”

Anton clasped his hands together behind his back and tapped his toes nervously while waiting for her to open the present. Was it too much? She was hardly ever wearing jewellery since she wasn’t particularly fond of it. But when he had seen the delicate necklace he’d had to think of her immediately.

“Oh Anton, it’s wonderful!” she exclaimed happily lifting up her hand with the necklace. The little purple gem hanging on its end gleamed in the dim light. When he saw her face beaming with joy, her truly rejoicing the present, he sighed with relieve. He had been so worried!

He gestured for the necklace. “May I?”

She handed it to him and turned around, gathering her hair on one side to give him good access to her neck. He carefully laid the necklace around it. When he clasped the ends together his fingertips grazed her skin and he could hear her breath hitch. Anton quickly pulled his hands back, efficiently breaking the tension between them.

Sophia turned back around to face him and touched the little gem. It seemed like she truly admired it.

“It’s wonderful, really. Thank you.” They looked at each other smiling brightly yet not quite knowing what to say. Anton somehow felt the urgent desire to… kiss her? He became frightened by himself. What did he dare thinking?!  

“Anton, can we finally leave? You’re horrible!” Freddie interrupted his thoughts. Anton would usually curse him under his breath for such behaviour but right now, he was glad about the distraction.

Yes, Freddie had also been invited. For some reason, Sophia had taken a liking the boy even though was horrible with his now sixteen years. Probably because he had invited her to his birthday in February as well. Though Anton was sure it was partially because that way, Freddie had been able to leave at some point because his father was, again, much more focused on his first-born dancing with his… uhm, _future wife_ as he had put it.

Anton wouldn’t exactly put it that way… not yet at least. He mentally smacked the back of his head. He forbad himself to think about it as long as he didn’t know about her feelings.

He quickly glanced at his brother before turning back to Sophia. “I’m sorry, I think I really have to leave now.” He quickly kissed her knuckles, his lips lingering just a bit longer as usually. “Good night, Sophia. Sleep well.”

Yet he was taken by surprise when her hand suddenly closed around his. She pulled him closer and it happened so quickly he couldn’t have seen it coming. His eyes widened when he felt her lips touching his cheek lightly.

“Thank you for coming tonight. Sleep well yourself, Anton,” she smiled before closing the door and leaving him standing there staring at the wood with the most dumbstruck expression on his face and his hand touching his cheek where only moments ago her lips had rested.

“Hey, Romeo, I’ll be leaving without you if you don’t come now!” Freddie’s voice ripped him from his thoughts once more and he hurried to enter the carriage behind him. He was definitely trusting his brother to actually leave and making him walk to the castle all the way.

He tried his best to put on a neutral face but judging by Freddie’s face he failed miserably. “You’re horrible. Really, Anton.”

“Shut up.”

But he would continue snickering and teasing his brother while Anton would do his best to ignore him and look out of the window remembering the feeling of Sophia’s lips on his cheek.

He realized that he had, indeed, fallen in love with her.

*

He invited her over to the Herzen Castle in April when the irises had just started blooming in all their glory. He wanted her to see it so badly. He missed her quickly these days. He had, of course, seen her since her birthday but she hadn’t kissed him again. He had to admit that he missed that, too.

He couldn’t wait to have her here again. He knew she would love seeing the irises.

 

Sophia was waiting in the castle’s grand foyer patiently after one of the servants had let her in and told her to stay here, someone would come soon. Sophia hadn’t questioned it, she had merely thanked the nice woman and smiled at her.

Now, she was looking around the room. It was … gigantic. Not that she had never been here before, she had already been in this room a few times when there had been a ball she had been invited to. But there had always been so many other people and she had merely walked through the room, never giving it much of her attention. She regretted doing so now because the room was actually very interesting. It surely wasn’t the typical foyer she was used to.

A portrait on the wall to her right had captured her attention. It was showing the Duke and the Duchess along with their much younger sons. It was one of these typical formal portraits. But Sophia was drawn to it anyways. It must have been drawn already a few years ago when the Duchess had still been alive. She could see the similarity between her and Anton. And that his hair hadn’t been in that much need for a haircut than it was today. If she wanted, she could braid it.

“Master Anthony had just turned thirteen when it had been drawn. Fredrich was seven,” Sophia suddenly heard someone say. She turned towards the voice and smiled at the slender man making his way towards her. “In case you were interested, Miss Sophia.”

“I was indeed, thank you,” she replied. “But may I know who you are? I’m sorry if we met before but I can’t remember,” she said apologizing.

The man raised the corner of his mouth barely. “My name is Nigel, I’m Master Anthony’s servant. I’ll be escorting you to him,” he explained and gestured her to follow him. Sophia did so immediately.

“Actually, Duke Herzen wanted to greet you, but he got distracted, so it’s my task to bring you to Master Anthony. I hope you don’t mind. Master Anthony is currently taking his fencing lesson,” Nigel explained as they made their way through the castle. Sophia was glad that he had started talking as the silence had become rather uncomfortable. But the news made her wish he hadn’t said anything.

“The Duke? Is… is something the matter?” she asked cautiously. The talk between her and her sister from almost a year ago when she and Anton had first met came back to her mind and made her anxiously biting on her lower lip.

Nigel looked at her for a long moment. “Duke Herzen merely wanted to escort you himself. I’m in no place to tell you more,” he replied then without slowing down. Sophia had no chance as they already passed a door which led to an inner courtyard of the castle where she could hear the clashing of blades echoing through the patio. That was at least what Sophia assumed it to be. She craned her neck to see more. Anton had once told her that he liked to fence.

Nigel stopped once they could see Anton and… was that Freddie he was fencing with? Yes, indeed. A third man was standing a bit further away observing the brothers. What a lovely picture. Freddie was a great deal smaller than Anton, yet they seemed to have a lot of fun. Especially when Anton noticed Nigel and Sophia and Fredrich took the chance to win their “fight”. 

She waved at the young man who shielded his eyes from the sun when he hurried towards them.

When he was close enough, Sophia could see how his eyes widened. “Sophia! You’re early!” he gasped upon sheathing his sword.

She chuckled. “Actually, I’m right on time. Even a little late, I’m sorry. You must have lost the track of time, Anton.” She smiled kindly.

“What?! I… I didn’t notice, I’m so sorry. Please, forgive me.” He huffed, obviously annoyed with himself, and ran a hand through his hair but it got stuck where he had tied it at the base of his neck. He quickly loosened the hair tie and shook his head until it fell around his face like it usually did. Sophia had only ever seen tied together during balls but never for very long as he didn’t like it. He always had it hanging down by the end of the evening.

“There’s nothing you have to be sorry for, Anton. It can happen to everyone,” she smiled and, before she could stop herself, stroked a strand of his hair behind his ear. It was incredibly soft, and she wanted to keep touching it.

His eyes widened and it seemed like he needed several attempts to form a proper sentence. Sophia titled her head. Might he be nervous around her?   
“Well, then I am sorry for what I look like. Would you mind waiting a little longer? I would like to get out of these clothes,” he finally managed to choke out his sentence. His voice was way too high for an adult man and she chuckled.

 “I don’t mind. Both, the clothes and the waiting. But go. I won’t run away.” She winked at him and finally stopped toying with his hair. She shook her head mentally. She couldn’t just do that!

 

“I… thank you. I won’t be gone long.” He cleared his throat and glanced at his brother who was now slowly making his way towards them. “I’m sure Fredrich will keep you company, won’t you, Freddie?” he called out at him because he really didn’t want her to have to wait alone.

But the second Anton had said these words he regretted them upon seeing the smirk spreading on his brother’s face. “Sure!” he exclaimed before Anton had the possibility to backtrack. Freddie patted his lower back. “Go ahead, brother, I’ll be keeping Miss Sophia company.”

Why hadn’t he thought about this better? Anton glared at his brother warningly one last time, then cast one last glance at Sophia before he hurried away to get changed.

“Miss Sophia, it is lovely to see you here,” Fredrich greeted her grinning. “What would you like to do while waiting? I’m sure my brother wouldn’t be happy if I upset you,” he joked. “I would have a few amusing stories about my dear brother’s younger years if you happend to be interested.”

Sophia laughed and fell into step beside him. She liked the boy, he was the typical little brother, always having some teasing remark for Anton or a funny story to tell about him. He reminded her of her sister. It must be common among siblings.

“You couldn’t upset me, don’t worry,” Sophia assured the younger boy.

“That’s fortunate. Anton is a lot better with the sword, I wouldn’t stand a chance against him!”

Sophia shook her head. “Don’t say something like that. I’m sure you’re just as good as him.”

“Oh, are you sure?” Fredrich grinned but Sophia could see the doubt in his eyes.

“Yes, I am,” she replied firmly. “And even if you aren’t, there are other things you talented at. Don’t compare yourself to your brother, you are you and not him,” she assured him and smiled.

Fredrich returned her smile. “Thank you. I think that was the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.”

“Well, get used to it. I can’t stand it when people talk bad about themselves.” She gave him a wink, and they laughed. The boy was wonderful company. They talked for a little while until Fredrich mustered Sophia for some time without saying anything. She shifted uncomfortably. Was something wrong?

“Don’t get me wrong now,” he said after a few more moments, “I’m just trying to figure out what about you fascinates my brother so much.”

Sophia frowned. Fascinating? Anton? “Like I said, please don’t get me wrong,” Fredrich continued quickly when he saw her expression. “I’m wondering in a good way. Since he met you, he is… different. Happier. Laughs more and doesn’t get worked up so quickly when he’s having an argument with father. Which happens quite often lately. He’s better company to be around.” He smirked. “All thanks to me. And, of course, thanks to you I believe. The only thing that’s a bit annoying is his constant lovestruck smile.”

“Of course,” Sophia agreed jokingly although she was blushing furiously. But one question remained. “Thanks to you?”

“I had to convince him to dance with someone at the ball that night or our father would have murdered him. He wasn’t particularly fond of it, had never been. He is… well, actually I’m not the one who should tell you that, yes.” He nodded to himself.

“Shouldn’t tell me what? Come on, you can’t do that to me!” Sophia complained playfully and crossed her arms in front of her chest. “No gentleman would do that to a lady, especially not a royal gentleman.”

Fredrich groaned. Sophia knew she could be stubborn and surely wouldn’t give in now. She had been through worse with her own sister.

Fredrich struggled with himself but in the end, he gave in and told Sophia what she wanted to know. “He’s in love with you. He’s just not realizing it yet.” He sighed and raised his head to look at Sophia, but his eyes got stuck at something else. She followed his gaze and saw Anton coming towards them.

“Try not to break his heart. I wouldn’t like to be around him when he’s sad. He acts all melodramatic and overexaggerates. Horrible.” He surely didn’t approve of it.

Sophia nodded. “I’ll try my very best,” she promised the boy, but he merely huffed. He didn’t reply as Anton had come close enough to hear them now.

“Hello again. I hope my dear brother kept you pleasing company,” he said casting a glance at Fredrich.

“He did a wonderful job, don’t worry.”

They smiled at each other lovingly which caused Fredrich to turn around as quickly as possible. How couldn’t they see it themselves?! “I’ll be gone then. It was nice talking to you, Sophia!” He bid his goodbye and was off quicker than the couple could react.

“I’m truly sorry for his behaviour. And mine. I didn’t even get to greet your properly! Forgive me.” He took her hand in his and raised it to his mouth to kiss her knuckles lightly, his eyes never leaving hers. He didn’t let go of her hand afterwards and just looked at her. She smiled and laced their fingers together.

It was the first time she truly got to look at him. His usually light blond hair was a bit darker from still being wet. It was hanging around his face loosely, some strands falling into his face. He was dressed in only a pair of dark blue trousers and a plain white shirt. No noble jacket or any accessories or a tie, none of the things he would usually wear. She noticed that he had rolled up the sleeves to his elbows and she couldn’t deny how handsome he was. Not that she had never noticed this before. But she was particularly aware of it in this moment.

Sophia caught herself staring at him but found that she didn’t care. It wasn’t like he never did that…

“Sophia?” he asked when she didn’t reply anything and squeezed her hand.

She quickly shook her head and cleared her throat. She should stop daydreaming. “Sorry, I was thinking,” she smiled at him reassuringly and squeezed his hand in return. “You don’t have to apologize for anything, really. I had nice chats with Nigel and your brother, that’s all.” She decided not to tell him about what Nigel had told her. He always tried his best to avoid his father while talking, and she didn’t want to be the one who brought him up.

He looked as if he didn’t believe her but nodded then. “If you say so. Now, come, I have something to show you.” They walked alongside each other like they always did, yet this time, it was different. Instead of having their arms linked together, they were still holding hands. Not that they minded. Sometimes one of them would squeeze the other’s hand to make them look up and smile when they wouldn’t talk. Warmth spread through their bodies, a warmth so odd and yet so comfortable. None of them wanted to let go.

 

“Oh, I almost forgot to tell you the greatest news!” Sophia exclaimed later when they were sitting on the grass somewhere in the castle garden and were surrounded by dozens and dozens of irises. Anton had made it his task to put as many of them as possible in Sophia’s braid as they enjoyed the sun warming their faces.

“The greatest news? Now you’ve got me interested.” He smiled upon putting another flower in her hair, a daisy this time.

“You remember Marcus? My sister’s boyfriend? He finally proposed to her this weekend!” She turned around with the biggest smile on her lips. “Can you believe it? I was truly thinking he would never get around and actually do it.”  

Anton joined her laughter. “That’s wonderful! Please, give them my best regards and my congratulations. When will the wedding be?” He was always so happy whenever he heard that people would marry because they loved each other. He had been on countless wedding’s already and always been able to tell if the people married because of love or because it might be good for the political climate or whatever other reason. The weddings had felt forced, like no one was actually enjoying it. That’s what it had been like to Anton at least while the people around him had danced and laughed and the newlyweds had forced smiles on their faces and pretended to have fun among the others.

Liars.

All of them.

That was why Anton had already realized at a young age that he never wanted to marry out of any other reason than love.

Which made his thoughts go to the wonderful young woman in front of him. Her radiant smile had him captured, just like her sparkling eyes. Her kindness, her laugh, her voice, everything about her made Anton believe that he was in love with her. So, so much.

But how much exactly? Was it enough to spend the rest of their lives together? And would she even want that? That was the most important question. Did she return his feelings?

“In summer. My sister doesn’t like the cold and Marcus would never deny her anything.” She smiled while she spoke of him. Though he knew that it was stupid and childish behaviour, Anton couldn’t stop the jealously rising within him. He scolded himself quietly. He had no reason for this! Marcus Williams was an engaged man, and he and Sophia nothing but friends. Well, he considered her a friend he had deeper feelings for but that didn’t change anything…

“Oh, by the way,” she added grinning, distracting him from his thoughts, “you’re invited as well.”

 

On the day of Abigail’s wedding, the question of how much exactly he loved Sophia came back to Anton’s mind. He could clearly see that this was a wedding whose bride and groom had married because of love and nothing else. The people enjoyed the festivity, they laughed and danced and enjoyed several drinks and food and praised whoever had arranges all the flowers around the location. The newlyweds were beaming at each other and radiating so much joy only a happily married couple could.

Anton asked himself the question again when Sophia was, for once, not dancing with him. She hadn’t done so, except for a dance with her father, for the entire evening until Marcus had come forward and asked for a dance with his new sister-in-law which Sophia hadn’t declined. No, she had smiled and replied why she shouldn’t.

As he stood there and watched them dancing, the ugly feeling of jealousy was slowly raising within him again. He tried his best to push it away, but it was fruitless. He had to watch how another man danced with her, touched her, made her smile. He watched her hair decorated with flowers cascading down her back, her eyes lightening with every step she took. He desperately wished to be in Marcus’s place. And that was when Anton realized that he had, indeed, an answer for his question.

He didn’t want to dance with anyone but her for the rest of his life.

*

 _The flower; it's blooming._  
The flower, the flower; it's blooming.  
It was oh so afraid of the wind that blew, and its un  
noticed and now that flower right there is blooming out.  
"Bloom."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Quotes aren't mine   
> Check here for the original writer:   
> https://www.ign.com/boards/threads/the-flower-its-blooming.454976616/


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I suppose it’s a goodbye now,” he sighed as they stood in front of her house. Both of them looked up the wall to the illuminated windows. Who might be in the rooms behind them?   
> “Hm, yes, I suppose,” Sophia said quietly. She chewed on her lower lip as she looked at him, her gaze flickering across his face.   
> “Are you all right? You seem a bit tensed,” he asked worried placing his hands softly on her shoulders to take a closer look at her.  
> “I was just wondering if, uhm… you know, I really like spending time with you. Really.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have nothing to say for myself except for that I can't believe that I wrote something so romantic and the fact that the next chapter will be even cheesier.   
> There is nothing else to say xD

_“The sun rises_  
when you and I meet   
and when the wind blows,  
 you will know my heart.” 

_– Professor Layton and Pandora’s Box_

*

Chapter 4

*

It was a nice summer day which they spent in the city a week after Abigail’s wedding. She was gone by now, being on her honeymoon with her new husband somewhere in Spain. Sophia had complained about how empty the house was without her sister around, so Anton had made it his task to spend even more time with her (and kind of neglect his duties. But he didn’t mind because he had basically only been fighting with his father lately) as long as she wanted his company. She wasn’t tired of it yet.

It was different today. When he had offered her his arm when he had picked her up, Sophia had merely risen her eyebrows and instead taken his hand with a smile. Anton had been rather surprised since they would usually be a bit more formal around each other when they were in public, but he hadn’t minded. He had simply stroked the back or her hand with his thumb and smiled back at her.

He wondered how she would react if he told her that he loved her. They knew each other for a little over a year now. Wasn’t that too short? Well, it wasn’t like he wanted to marry her immediately… he wanted to marry her, of course! One day. He knew people who had married after less time (not counting the “forced” marriages he had seen so often) but Anton wanted to take one step at a time and not pressure her. Even though he loved her and wanted nothing more than to be together with her forever.

During meals with his family he was thinking about her and wishing to sit at her family’s table instead where it was loud and funny and the meals not such a strict affair. When he was studying, when he was reading, when he was discussing with his father… well, at least when he was supposed to do all these things, he was thinking about Sophia. During the night, his dreams were full of her, of her smile, her laugh, her sparkling eyes, her words, her kindness, their dances, her lips on his cheek, her lips on his own lips… when he accidentally thought about it during breakfast he would have to lower his head so his hair would cover his flushed face. But Freddie would notice it anyway and make fun of it until their father would get whiff of it and ask what exactly was going on. And if Anton hadn’t kicked his brother in the shin beneath the table every time, Freddie would have spilled the beans long ago. Though his father must know about it. After all, he had seen him dancing with Sophia. But Anton doubted that his father had noticed his recent increasing absence from the castle.

What would she say if he told he that he loved her? Anton studied her face while she wasn’t looking at him. Did she return his feelings? Would she say that she loved him, too? Or not? Would she feel obliged to say she returned his feelings because he was the Duke’s son?

Well, that would be more likely the case if he asked her to marry him… or would she decline this offer? Would she shout at him how he could dare doing such a thing? Or would she really give in because she felt like she had to and not because she wanted to?

That was his greatest fear. That she would say yes one day because she felt like she had to. That he would have one of these forced marriages and unhappy lives he feared so much.

“Hello? Anton? Are you listening?”

Her words ripped him from his thoughts. Anton quickly shook his head and cleared his throat. “I’m sorry, I was thinking. What were you saying?”

She sighed. “Is everything alright? You’ve been somewhere else with your thoughts all day,” she said. She sounded a bit… sad? Disappointed? Whatever it was, Anton felt horrible for making her feel that way. How could he think about marrying her if he couldn’t even make her happy on a regular day?!

“Yes, I am all right. I was really just thinking.” He wanted to apologize as well but he didn’t know how cleverly to incorporate one. “I’m sorry.”

_Yeah, that was probably the very best he could have done… not. Great job, Anton, really._

“You don’t have to apologize,” she assured him with a gentle smile. “Do you want to tell me what is on your mind? I often find that talking helps a lot,” she offered him kindly.

Anton felt like he had to break into cold sweat any second. What was he supposed to say? Surely not _“Well, I was just thinking about declaring my love for you and what you would say. Oh, and about marriage, too”._ That was…  clearly not the best option. No, it was the worst actually. But he couldn’t lie to her either! He shouldn’t think about this yet. He didn’t even know about her feelings!

“Anton? You don’t have to talk to me about it of you don’t want to. But if you keep saying nothing to me, it is going to be a bit one-sided.”

Oh god, he was awful. “It’s nothing, really. Just some business I have to attend to soon. I shouldn’t think about it now,” he said. It wasn’t a lie but also not exactly the truth. _Just_ some business… as if she wasn’t important!

“If you say so.” She smiled at him though he had the feeling that she was still waiting patiently for him to start talking. And god, how much he wanted to, but he couldn’t. Another day maybe. And another place for sure! When he had enough courage. And knew about her feelings. That was the most important thing.

“Thank you though. I really appreciate it,” he ensured her quickly. He didn’t want her to think that he didn’t honour her offer.

“Well, what kind of friend would I be if I didn’t listen to your problems and tried to help you?” She asked friendly and laughed. She couldn’t know what was going on inside of Anton. _Friend_. She was considering him a friend? Just a friend, nothing more? He stayed back a bit when she suddenly waved at someone and let go of his hand to hurry towards one of the stalls around the town square.

Well, he couldn’t blame her. They got along well; he couldn’t expect her to feel more for him. She wasn’t obliged to. Or did she feel more for him and just couldn’t say it? Was she afraid? But of what? The entire situation caused him quite a headache. He had never before thought about such things and now they came crashing down onto him, all at the same time. Love. Marriage. Duty. The throne. Rejection, denial.

He quickly shook his head. Why was he thinking about something like this? Just because of one comment she had made? And now he was standing here, philosophising about his life and the decisions to make while he could very well spend some wonderful time with her. He realized that he hadn’t been the best company all day and gritted his teeth. Why was he like this?

Anton took a deep breath. He let it get to himself too easily. He looked around until he spotted Sophia and went towards her. He was here with her and wanted them to have a good time. Hell must break lose to keep him from doing so.

She laughed about something the man behind the stall must have said when he stepped next to her. “Oh Anton, there you are! Done thinking?” she asked teasingly and gave him a wink. He chuckled and came to think that no woman before had dared to joke with him like she did. He doubted he might find one like her ever again.

“Yes. I’m truly sorry, there’s just a lot on my mind lately. So, what were you doing? Wait, is that jewellery you’re looking at?” he asked surprised and a bit teasingly as well when he saw which items the vendor was offering. She wasn’t the type of woman who went shopping for accessories and clothes, nor did she take a particular liking to jewellery. But she was wearing his necklace whenever he saw her.

She chuckled, probably because she knew exactly what he was thinking. “Not exactly. Anton, this is Donald, a very good friend of my mother. They went to school together,” she explained and gestured at the man opposite to her. He was surely twice Anton’s size, yet he bowed his head politely upon meeting his eyes.

“Lord Herzen, a pleasure to meet you,” he greeted him before he gave Sophia a wink. “I see you’re making new… _friends_.” He smirked and Sophia rolled her eyes blushing when she turned towards him.

“Forgive me, Donald tends to be a little tease… at least when he gets to tease me,” she explained.

He laughed. “Yep, she’s right. I knew her since she was a baby. For example, when Sophia here was four, she-”

“No, no, no, stop! Stop making fun of me, Donny! No one wants to hear these stories!” she quickly interrupted him laughing.

“Well, I would like to hear the story,” Anton intervened teasingly. He smirked at Sophia when she spun around.

“What? Are you siding with him now?”

“Actually, yes. You would do the same with Fredrich in the blink of an eye.”  

“I’ll never go anywhere with you again!”

It went on like this for a while until it changed into a nice chat between the three again. They bid their goodbyes at some point later when Donald whispered something into Sophia’s ear which Anton couldn’t understand, and made her blush furiously.

“Donny! I told you to stop that!” she hissed but Anton could still see the smile playing at the corner of her mouth.

She took his hand again and shook her head. “Honestly, that man. No idea how my mother could bear him for so many years.”

“I like him,” Anton claimed grinning which caused Sophia to poke her tongue at him.

“That figures! Pff! Men…” she huffed.

He nudged her shoulder jokingly. “Come on, don’t be mad. We were just making fun. God forbid I get mad when you and Freddie are making fun of me…” his thumb stroked the back of her hand gently.

She smirked. “That is something completely different, my friend,” she retorted.

“Mh, sure.”

The teasing went on for almost the entire way to Sophia’s house. Anton was sure he had never felt… lighter. It was so easy to be with Sophia. She never made him feel uncomfortable or like he was superior to her. He wasn’t any man, he wasn’t Earl Herzen, the heir of the throne to her, he was simply Anton.

She smiled at him and squeezed his hand gently. Anton replied the gesture swiftly.

He doubted he would ever meet anyone like her again.

It was getting rather late once they had actually, after countless detours and dinner at a restaurant, made it to Sophia’s home. He was still holding her hand, not wanting to let go. He wanted to stay with her. And yes, he scolded himself for these thoughts.

“I suppose it’s a goodbye now,” he sighed as they stood in front of her house. Both of them looked up the wall to the illuminated windows. Who might be in the rooms behind them?

“Hm, yes, I suppose,” Sophia said quietly. She chewed on her lower lip as she looked at him, her gaze flickering across his face.

“Are you all right? You seem a bit tensed,” he asked worried placing his hands softly on her shoulders to take a closer look at her. What might it be? She had been alright only minutes ago.

“Yes. Yes… I was just wondering, uhm…,” she stopped mid-sentence to chew on her lip again. “Ah, I’m usually not so lost for words, forgive me.”

“You don’t have anything to be sorry for,” he replied swiftly, not wanting her to feel guilty of anything for even a second, whatever it might be. “You can tell me everything. Someone told me that talking often helps.” He gave her a wink, but she merely smiled and frowned deeply. Now, Anton was getting really worried.

“I was just wondering if, uhm… you know, I really like spending time with you. _Really_.” She laid a lot of emphasis on the last word, looking at him meaningfully. Anton nodded but wasn’t exactly sure if he was getting the message.

“I mean I _really_ like you. Like in… _more_ than just a friend… I suppose.” She bit her lower lip again looking up at him nervously. And Anton’s brain stopped working for a moment.

“You suppose?” he asked which was quite probably the stupidest thing he could have said.

“I… yes,” she merely replied before she sighed. “You know, just forget it. It was stupid,” she added quickly, so quickly he had almost let her get away. But luckily, his brain had started working again.

She liked him like… like he did! She returned his feelings! She actually did!

“Wait… wait, Sophia! No!” He burst out in a radiant smile. He couldn’t believe it! “No Sophia, that’s not stupid at all! I’m… I’m glad you feel this way.”

“You are glad?” She frowned. Now it was her who couldn’t process the spoken words.

“Yes! Because… I feel the same for you,” he confessed. “I think I… I might have… fallen in love with you over the past year.” Anton gulped. There, said it. He waited almost anxiously for her reply. Had it been too much?

No, it hadn’t. She beamed at him but there was a certain twinkle in her eyes he knew all too well by now. “You think?” she asked teasingly and gave him a wink. That did it, the tension that had formed between them dissolved into thin air and they both laughed quietly. Anton couldn’t believe his luck.

“No, I’m sure,” he clarified and took her hands in his once again. They were a bit cold despite the warmth of this summer evening, and he raised them to his lips to breath some warm air over them.

“Then I am glad, too.” She leaned forward and kissed his hands which held hers. Something within Anton snapped. He straightened himself a bit and couldn’t prevent his eyes from flickering to her lips. Her breath hitched. She must have noticed it.

“Sophia?”

“Yes?”

Quiet voices in the raise of the night.

“I was wondering something else,” he whispered, leaning closer to her until their foreheads touched. “I was wondering if… I may kiss you?”

She took a shuddering breath and the tiniest of smiles spread on her lips when she nodded. “Of course.”

She leaned up and he leaned down simultaneously. The second before their mouths touched, he closed his eyes savouring the perceptions of his other senses. His stomach exploded into thousand tiny pieces when he finally, _finally_ , felt her lips on his. Warm and soft, sweeter than any dream had ever been. A warmth radiated through his entire body and he pulled her closer, lacing their fingers together as he did so. He had kissed girls before, of course, but it had never felt like this. Never so… complete. He felt… no, he _was_ complete.

He felt her smile the second before he leaned back. When he opened his eyes, he met hers looking at him with so much love and caring that he might burst out of joy. He beamed at her and loosened one of his hands to stroke a strand of hair out of her face. She was the most wonderful person he had ever met, and he made sure to tell her so.

Sophia blushed heavily. “Stop that. You’re making me even more nervous,” she whispered hoarsely. She raised her free hand to his cheek to cradle it. “Anton?”

“Hm?” He had closed his eyes to enjoy her touch, too reluctant to open them again.

“Do you just want to stand there, or do you want to kiss me again?” she asked playfully, giving him a wink when he opened his eyes. There she was again, his usual playful Sophia who was never lost for words.

He grinned and was actually brave enough to wrap his arms around her waist. “If I may, my dear,” he answered.

“You don’t have to ask,” she smiled, cupping his face with her hands when he pulled her closer to kiss her again and again while the night with all its stars rose around them and the moon shone brightly up so high in the sky.

Yet he would always make sure to ask her. He never wanted her to be uncomfortable around him, he wanted her to stay and be as happy as he was. He would do everything for it. The smiles on their faces spoke their very own language, sending out a message of love of two people who hadn’t been very likely to meet, yet they had.

They had met, and now the while the wind was blowing, tugging gently at their hair, both of them knew each other’s heart… finally. 


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Hello. Donald was it, wasn’t it?”   
> Said man turned around and raised his eyebrows. “Earl Herzen. Yes, indeed. How can I help you, My Lord?”   
> Anton looked at the jewellery the man had laid out at his stall. He could see lots of garish pieces but also some incredibly delicate ones. Sophia would like a such one.   
> “You know Sophia longer than I do. I need your help. Which one of these do you think she would like the most?”   
> “Oi! What do you want to get her? A necklace? I could have some she might like.” Donald grinned and rubbed his chin thinking. “Yep, I definitely have some, My Lord.”   
> “Actually,” Anton began, running a hand through his hair nervously. He had to take a deep breath to muster up the courage he needed to speak. “Actually, I was wondering if I could get a ring here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!   
> Another week went by ^^ I'm sorry for this chapter, it is a bit cut short. Not length-wise but the ending-wise. I wasn't sure how to finish it, so... yeah. Sorry.   
> Also, I'm not sure I can upload next week (or in two weeks) because I have an important presentation coming up and need to prepare a lot for that. It's also the first big "test" I have in university therefor I'm really anxious about it. I hope you guys understand.

_“The best and most beautiful things in the world_  
cannot be seen, heard or even touched,   
they must be felt with the heart.” 

_– Helen Keller_

_*_

Chapter 5 

*

_“Hello. Donald was it, wasn’t it?”_

_Said man turned around and raised his eyebrows. “Earl Herzen. Yes, indeed. How can I help you, My Lord?”_

_Anton looked at the jewellery the man had laid out at his stall. He could see lots of garish pieces but also some incredibly delicate ones. Sophia would like a such one._

_“You know Sophia longer than I do. I need your help. Which one of these do you think she would like the most?”_

_“Oi! What do you want to get her? A necklace? I could have some she might like.” Donald grinned and rubbed his chin thinking. “Yep, I definitely have some, My Lord.”_

_“Actually,” Anton began, running a hand through his hair nervously. He had to take a deep breath to muster up the courage he needed to speak. “Actually, I was wondering if I could get a ring here.”_

*

_“This girl?!”_

_“Yes. Absolutely. You always told me to “finally get a wife”. Now I have someone I want to marry. Why don’t you like her? Give me one reason!” Anton tried to stay calm but couldn’t stop his voice from raising at the end of his sentence._

_His father merely shook his head. “I just don’t like her. Why don’t you get yourself a daughter from one of my friends? Like-”_

_“Because I don’t care about your friends’ daughters!” he yelled, slamming a fist on his father’s desk. “I love_ Sophia _!”_

_“Don’t raise your voice at me, son!” his father barked and raised his hand. Anton backed away quickly enough to dodge the slap he would otherwise have received. He glared at his father who was breathing heavily and clearly pissed to not have hit his son._

_“I always told you I would marry a woman of your choice when I wouldn’t find one myself. Now I found one, and it’s you who won’t keep his word.” He tried to stay as calm a he could, but it was hard. He wanted nothing more than scream into his father’s face. No one should dare to say something against his Sophia as long as he was near._

_The Duke leaned back in his chair and huffed. “Do whatever you want. I can transfer the throne to your brother. Now, leave, I can’t see your face anymore. I have to check on the finances…”_

_‘As usual’ Anton thought bitterly before he left his father’s study as quickly as possible._

_*_

This and a lot of other things were on his mind when he was making his way to Sophia’s place. It was raining heavily; the rain came pouring down onto the carriage’s roof creating a nice atmosphere. He liked the smell of rain but today, he looked at it grimly. He had wanted to go out with Sophia since it had been supposed to be one of the first nice days after the long and cold winter. He touched the pocket of his coat to feel the box in there. The weather was ruining his plans.

But it actually didn’t matter, it was always warm with Sophia around. Since that day he had kissed her for the first time months ago, they had spent a lot more time together. Anton was welcomed at her house at any time, her parents were so used to him being there by now that they wondered when he was absent Sophia had once told him.

It ached to leave every time. Which might have been the reason that he had actually… stayed a few nights. Maybe more than a few. But it was just too easy. Sophia’s parents liked having him around and didn’t mind. No, in contrast to his father, they were incredibly happy for Sophia and him. And, Anton believed so at least, they rather had him here than Sophia at the castle… that way they at least knew that nothing did happen to her… not that he intended to do so!

Also, it was just too easy to sneak out of the castle. His father was buried behind his desk constantly since he, or rather his workers, had discovered some new kind of ore in the mine last summer which his father wanted to be quarried and made into some new kind of jewellery or whatever… Anton doubted they needed even _more_ money but his father wouldn’t listen to him. Since he had announced that he wanted to propose to Sophia their relationship had become even more strained. Not that he cared. Marrying someone else was out of question.

And Freddie didn’t care too much either. When he would notice Anton sneaking out of the castle he would merely smirk and teasingly tell him to “take care” for which Anton always smacked the back of his head before he would leave while Freddie promised to keep their father occupied should he decide to leave his study for once. Which barely ever happened. The last time they had all had breakfast together must have been ages ago.

His thoughts wandered to Sophia again. She usually had breakfast with her family. When he had been there, her father hadn’t been absent like his own. In fact, he had always been there. And it had been so uncomfortable the first morning.

The four of them had been sitting at the table deadly silent. Sophia and her mother had tried keep a conversation going on between the four of them but had failed because her father had been occupied with staring Anton dead in the eye trying to figure out what exactly he had done to his daughter and if he had to murder him for it (just to be clear, Anton hadn’t done ANYTHING! … at least _they_ hadn’t in _that_ night…). At some point Sophia had leaned over to him (of which her father hadn’t approved) and whispered into his ear to just imagine what it would be like if her sister was here as well. And, oh boy, _that_ would have been uncomfortable!

His own brother hadn’t been better, when Anton had come home some time later Freddie had approached him with his hands deep in his pockets and the widest smirk on his face and had asked _how it had been._ Anton had merely rolled his eyes and strode past him to get to his work. He sadly couldn’t neglect his duties as heir to the throne forever. Unfortunately, Freddie wouldn’t shut up, not even when Anton had shut the door in his face and locked it. No, the boy had been staying in front of the door stubbornly and occasionally asked _how it had been_. Pubescent idiot.

“Master Anthony, we arrived.” The nasally voice of his butler Nigel ripped him from his thoughts. It might be a bit bothersome to listen to for a longer time, but the man was a good friend and loyal. He would never tell Anton’s father anything.

Anton looked up. The house was ablaze with light on this dark afternoon and the rain had even intensified during the past minutes. Though it was only afternoon, it was dark like the night outside. But if Anton was right, he could see the door open and Sophia standing there waiting for him. His heart skipped a beat, and he smiled.

“Thank you, Nigel,” Anton answered.

“When shall I be back, Master Anthony?”

“Don’t worry about it, I’ll get back on my own. Just make sure my father won’t notice anything.”

“Of course, Master Anthony.”

Anton nodded at the man and offered him a smile before he left the carriage and ran over to Sophia. She was indeed already waiting for him and quickly pulled him inside, but it had been for nothing. He felt like he was drenched to the skin.

“Sorry for ruining the carpet. What a horrible weather,” he apologized quickly upon taking off his coat. Droplets of water fell from his hair and one landed exactly on his nose. He blinked confused and sneezed. Stupid weather!

Sophia laughed quietly as she took his jacket to hang it up somewhere to dry. “Don’t worry, it can be dried. You know, I told you that you are in need for a haircut.” She stroked the bothering strand of hair out of his face and smiled. “But, for now, hello, my dear.”

“Hello.” He took her hand in his and kissed it. It was a habit he couldn’t let go of. “May I kiss you?”

She rolled her eyes and shook her head chuckling. “I already told you a thousand times that you don’t have to ask.”

“And yet I asked you a thousand times.” He gave her a wink and smiled beneath her lips when she kissed him. Yet he quickly backed away when he noticed her shivering. “Are you all right?”

“You are cold, especially your hands,” she replied, taking them in hers to warm them a bit. She gazed at him as she held them to her mouth and breathed some warm air over his knuckles. “I’ll get you towel. Go to the kitchen, my mother is there. She couldn’t wait for you to arrive. It is a bit odd that she was almost as excited as me to see you again,” she joked.

Anton chuckled quietly. “Even if it was like that, you don’t have to worry about anything. I love you and you only.”

She beamed at him. “I love you too. But now, go to the kitchen. I’ll be right back.” She gave him a gentle shove before she hurried of in the different direction. He knew better than to argue with her, so he made his way to the kitchen. He stopped in the doorway and gently knocked on the wall to not to startle Sophia’s mother. “Hello, Miss.”

She turned around with the biggest smile. “Anton, my boy! It’s so good to see you again!” She welcomed him with open arms and a lot more strength than one would give her credit for. She gripped him by the shoulders and saw him over. “My, I didn’t realize the rain had gotten so heavy! I’ll fetch you a towel! Where is Sophia anyway?”

“Don’t worry, Sophia is already doing so. She sent me here to say hello and wait for her.”

“And you obeyed commendably, very nice,” Sophia said from behind. She came up to him and gave him a big soft towel. “Here you go. Get dry before you catch a cold. I don’t want you to get sick.” She quickly kissed his cheek and smiled upon wrapping her arms around his waist. She placed her chin on his shoulder, and when Anton was done with temporary drying his hair he was greeted with the most adorable smile. He returned it.

“Now, Anton, how have you been doing? I haven’t seen you in over a week!” The voice of Sophia’s mother made their heads snap, and Anton cleared his throat. It was true, he hadn’t seen Sophia or been here in over a week. He had missed her.

“Stressful. My my father is very keen on this special ore being quarried and constantly wants me by his side to monitor the work… as if we would need more money…” He had only muttered the last part of his sentence while he had laid an arm around Sophia’s waist. “But I was lucky enough to get away today.”

They chatted for a while about everything and nothing, and Anton realized once more how different Sophia’s family was from his. He wondered. Would she even like to be part of his family? Freddie was nice, yes, but also incredibly annoying. His mother was dead and his father… Anton would love to be a part of this wonderful family of hers, but could he really expect the same from her? Could he really?

“Oh, look, it stopped raining!” Sophia mentioned some time later interrupting their chat. Indeed, it had stopped raining, the sky was clear, and the late sun was shining through the window. “Would you still like to go for a walk?”

Before Anton could answer that he would indeed like that a lot, Sophia’s mother spoke. “Oh, that would be wonderful, you could get your father, Sophia! He’s still at Benedict’s house, and I need that man to finally come home! I won’t do all the housework myself if that’s what he believes…”

“We can do so, mother, no problem,” Sophia assured her and stood up. Anton hurried to do the same.

“Thank you, my dear. What about you, Anton? Would you like to stay for dinner?” She turned around to look at him. 

“I would love to,” he replied with a smile. It would be a lot nicer than at the castle where he would probably eat alone. His father barely ever turned up anymore and if he did, then with a pile of paperwork, and Freddie was out a lot lately since he met a girl he seemed to like. The perfect opportunity for Anton to finally repay his brother for all the recent teasing.

“Very well, that was the answer I wanted to hear! Now, off you two, hush!” She smiled warmly when Sophia kissed her cheek before she linked arms with Anton. They were so cute together. She had the strange feeling that her second daughter would move soon, too, just like her Abby. They grew up so fast.

 

Sophia’s mother couldn’t know how right she had been with her thoughts, just like Anton and Sophia couldn’t know either as they stepped out of the house. Anton’s jacket had dried since he had arrived which he was glad for even though it was still rather warm outside.

“My father and Benedict have been friends since they were children,” Sophia explained when Anton asked about her father’s friend. “When Abby and I were younger we would even go as far and call him “Uncle Ben” and my mother would ask to whom of the two she was married, so often he was visiting us before he became a father himself.”

Anton stayed back when she knocked firmly on the door any was greeted by a tall and skinny man. “Ah, Sophia, what a surprise! I assume you are searching for your father?” The man, presumably Benedict, wrapped her in a hug.

“Exactly. Mother wants him to come home. I quote _“I won’t do all the housework myself if that’s what he believes_ ”.”

The man laughed before he called for Sophia’s father who quickly agreed on going home in order to not upset his wife. Anton mustered him, especially his smile. It seemed so… genuine. So loving. If his parents had been the same? He could barely imagine his father smile anymore. It was like his smile had died along with Anton’s mother. He wished he would be able to look at Sophia the same way in thirty years.

“Ah, Anton! It’s good to see you again!” Sophia’s father gripped his offered hand and shook it firmly.

Anton nodded at him. “It’s good to see you, too, Sir.”

“Well, I’ll be heading home. You better look well after my little Sophie!”

“Of course, Sir,” he quickly replied while Sophia only whispered “Father!” embarrassedly. He didn’t seem to hear it though as he only smiled at his daughter before he made his way home. Anton’s eyes followed him as he put a hand in his pocket where he could feel the little box again. He gulped. He somehow feared the man would murder him if Anton told him about his plans and asked for his blessing. But he eventually had to…

“Anton? Is everything all right?” Sophia’s fingers linked with his and her voice ripped him from his frantic thoughts.

He quickly smiled at her. “Yes. Sorry, I was just… thinking,” he slowly answered when they continued their way.

Sophia swayed their intertwined hands back and forth. “What about? Care to tell me?”

Right now, in the middle of the street? Better not. So, he only winked at her mischievously and said, “If I told you… you would be in great danger.”

Sophia just stared at him for a few seconds before she burst out laughing. “You idiot! Seriously, you had me worried there for a moment!”

Anton joined her and pulled her a bit closer to quickly kiss the top of her head. “You made it too easy, dear.”

“Now it is my fault or what do you want to say?” She lightly shoved his shoulder. They continued to snicker and tease each other while walking. As the time passed the sun slowly sat, bathing the landscape in a dark orange colour. Anton looked at the sky. It looked like it was going to rain again soon.

They had made their way to the fields surrounding Folsense, one of Anton’s favourite places. Far away from the busy town square and the great houses.

“Do you see that tree over there?” Sophia suddenly asked, pointing at a tree not far away.

“Yes, I do. What about it?”

“When Abby and I were younger, our father had built a swing for us there because that was our favourite place to be. We would be playing there for hours,” she told him with a beaming smile just as a raindrop hit Anton’s nose. He wanted to say that they should most likely get back, but Sophia was already dragging him towards said tree.

“It’s a cherry blossom. They usually bloom earlier than other trees that’s why Abby and I loved it. And because it was pink and… wait, is it raining again?”

“Yes.” He had barely said the word, and it began pelting down with rain. They quickly made their way under the tree and Anton pulled her close to shield her from the rain. Luckily, the leaf canopy was dense enough to mostly shelter the couple from the rain.

“Oh, great. My mother will worry about us,” she sighed and sneezed.

“Please, don’t get sick. Your father will murder me,” he joked to lighten the mood a bit and grinned when Sophia laughed.

“He wouldn’t do that. He likes you a lot,” she replied lightly.

“Really?”

“Yes.” She nodded enthusiastically and wrapped her arms around his waist under his coat to warm herself up. “Stupid rain,” she grumbled and laid her cheek onto his chest when Anton pulled her closer. She could hear his heart beat and funnily way too fast. But Anton started talking before she could ask.

“Sophia?”

“Hm?” She wanted to stay like this forever and never let go again.

“If I asked you to marry me, would you say yes?”

She was so surprised that she couldn’t move for a moment, let alone speak. She blinked a few times before she backed away. The cold and the shock hit her so suddenly that a violent shiver ran down her spine and made her jump. “Uhm… Sorry?”  

Anton just looked at her. He expected him to row back immediately and apologize for his words, but he found himself not able to do so. He was serious, he had in fact never been more serious about anything in his life.

“Is this… a proposal?” she asked timidly, still maintaining distance.

Actually, a very good question. Anton wasn’t so sure himself to be honest. “It’s… I’m more curious. I’m just…” How could he explain this the best way possible? He cleared his throat. “ _Assuming_ I proposed to you, I… I just don’t want you to feel obliged to say yes just because I’m the Duke’s son. I don’t want you to do anything you don’t want. Ever. I wanted to ask you without anyone knowing about it before so you wouldn’t feel like you had to say yes because people might expect you to or... I… well, I just don’t want to cause you any distress. If my question did so, I’m truly sorry, and we can just forget about it if you want to.”

Sophia blinked a few times. She hadn’t reckoned with _that_ when she had woken up this morning.

Not in the slightest.

She cleared her throat. “It’s actually funny that you ask,” she began timidly. She noticed Anton’s confused gaze and quickly continued. “When we met for the first time after the ball, Abby teased me about it. That we would marry since everyone knew you searched for a wife. I absolutely panicked over the mere thought of you asking me that day.”

Anton’s head snapped around, but Sophia didn’t notice it. Her eyes were fixed on something far away, something only she could see while the rain was pouring down around them. Anton could barely believe his ears. Had he caused her so much discomfort? Had he really made her think so bad of him?

“I mean we barely knew each other back then and I know about royal people sometimes even marrying without knowing each other, so...”

“So?” he asked timidly when she paused.

Sophia merely shrugged. “I suppose I thought you wanted that. Though I didn’t take you for the type.” She finally, _finally_ , turned towards him again, the tiniest of smiles playing on her lips. “Am I right?”

He nodded barely feeling the raindrops falling on him. “Yes. Absolutely. I only ever wanted to marry because of love. _And I love you_ , Sophia. With all my heart.” He took her hand in his and, without missing a beat, went down on one knee. “Sophia, please do me the honour and spend the rest of my life with me. But only if you want do so willingly and free of any obligation.” He looked deep into her eyes. “Will you marry me?”

Oh no. That had been wrong. No! He had wanted to say so much more! A lot more… about how beautiful she was, how much she lightened up his days, how she made him so happy, how he could imagine a happy life with her, how he wanted to-

“Yes.”

Anton blinked. What?

He must have looked like a lost puppy because Sophia suddenly started to giggle, tears in her eyes. “Yes Anton, I want to marry you,” she said again as a tear made its way down her cheek.

Anton wasn’t sure anymore what exactly he had said but he was sure some words had left his mouth. Yet the next thing he knew for sure that he had apparently picked up Sophia and spun her around. She squeaked surprised but started laughing quickly. “Anton! Put me down!”

He swung her around one more time before he put her back on the ground but kept his arms wrapped around her waist tightly. He beamed at her. “I can’t believe you said yes!”

She giggled. “Why would I say something different, Anton? Honestly.”

He shrugged. “I couldn’t know if you-”

“Seriously?”

“You didn’t even let me finish!”

“Because everything you would have said would have been absolutely ridiculous!” She smiled. “Anton. There is no chance I would have said no.” She kissed him then, lightly and oh so sweet.

When he later slipped the ring onto her finger, something inside him seemed to unlock and he felt like the luckiest man on this earth.

Little did he know how short-lived his luck would be.

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It wasn’t long before she opened the window and leaned out of it, looking back at the city and castle she had just left. Her left hand was clutching to the necklace Anton had given her. Her tears weren’t dried but swept away by the wind hitting her face hard while her heart was breaking into pieces. One remained within her, the other jumped out of the train and ran all the way back to the castle, to Anton whom she had left devastated.   
> I have done the right thing, she told herself as she sat back down. She placed a hand over her belly while she tried not to cry again.   
> I have done the right thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello... yes, I know it's been a while.   
> I could tell you reasons why it took me so long but... actually I have nothing to say except thank you for bearing with me and thank you for your patience.   
> This was a nice little story for me to write, I hope you enjoyed it just as much as I did :) I'll return to "The Cogs of Time" soon and have a few more things in mind. I hope I'll begin one or two of them during the remaining time of my vacation once I finished my assignments for uni. 
> 
> Thanks again for bearing with me and I hope you liked this story :)

_“You can’t protect the people_  
you love  
from the unknown horrors   
you can’t reach.” 

_– Inspired by some fanfic I have once read_

*

Chapter 6 

*

It was the day of the engagement ball Sophia moved into the castle.

She was shining like a freshly carved gem standing next to Anton who was practically beaming at the applauding people after his father had (very reluctantly in the beginning but he had eventually put up with his son’s choice) announced his oldest son’s engagement.

Anton couldn’t tear his eyes away from Sophia. She was standing tall and proud, her hand in his as if he was presenting her (which he kind of was), smiling at the people, having kind words for everyone who came up to them to congratulate them personally. She didn’t decline a single offer when men came forward asking the soon to be Duchess of Folsense for a dance. Anton loved her for her kindness to the same amount he glared every man who dared touch her.

Needlessly to say, he glared a lot this evening.

Yet he enjoyed the night immensely. He couldn’t remember a single moment in his life when he had been this happy. Especially when they later laid in bed, when Sophia’s head was placed on his chest while he had his arms wrapped around her tightly. She was sleeping, her soft breathing being the only sound in the room. But Anton was wide awake. It wasn’t the first time they shared a bed but the first night of all the nights of the rests of their lives.

He didn’t want to miss it.

*

When Sophia moved into the castle, things went downwards. People got sick, people started to leave Folsense quicker and quicker when some of the sick people suddenly died from the obscure disease that was spreading within the city.

Anton could see the worry in Sophia’s eyes whenever the message of another sick person reached their ears. “Don’t worry,” he would tell her, “I’ll keep you safe. Nothing will happen to you.”

Sometimes, she shook her head. “This isn’t just about me, Anton. All these people…”

“We’ll find a solution. We’ll manage. Just stay with me.”

Other times, she wouldn’t reply anything.

It wasn’t long until their wedding anymore when Sophia fell sick although she insisted that she was fine.

“Anton, I’m fine, honestly. Must be the weather,” she would put it off. Yet she looked pale and unwell, her forehead sticky from the sweat she was trying to hide from Anton.

“You should go see a doctor. What if you caught the disease too?” Anton would ask horrified every morning.

“I’m not bed-ridden, I’m fine!”

They played that game until Anton won, and Sophia agreed to go see a doctor.

“I can go with you if you want,” Anton offered. He was standing behind her while she did her hair, his hands rubbing her shoulders comfortingly. Sophia shrugged them off.

“No, I will go alone. You have places to be. I’ll be back perfectly fine like I’m telling you.” She got up and quickly kissed him. “I’ll be back soon,” she said, softer this time, her hands lingering on his arm.

He stroked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I know I’m a bit overprotective but I’m worried sick. I wouldn’t know what to do if this horrible disease took you from me…”

*

There was a reason Sophia hadn’t wanted Anton to accompany her. Not only that he was unnerving her with no end, no. It was because she was afraid that she knew exactly what was going on with her.

Which was why the doctor found her staring at the ground in front of her with wide open eyes, her hands gripping the edge of her seat tightly when she told her with the biggest smile what she had already suspected.

_Pregnant._

Pregnant. How could this have happened? Of course, Sophia knew how this had happened, she wasn’t stupid. But… _how?_ Why right now? When a disease they didn’t know and had no cure for was rampaging in Folsense, taking people’s lives…

“Are you alright, Miss?”

Sophia couldn’t answer. Her thoughts made her head spin, faster and faster and…

“Miss? Didn’t you want a child?”

She shook her head. Not wanting it? She couldn’t imagine not having it even though she only knew about it for ten minutes. She already loved it. She knew Anton would react the same way. Anton…

“Did he… force himself on you?”

Well, that _did_ cause Sophia to react. Her head snapped up. “What? No! He would never-”

“I’m sorry if I offended you, Miss,” she quickly interrupted Sophia. She leaned closer and lowered her voice even more. “But I have to ask this. Not that any of my male colleagues care about it but I do.”

Sophia sensed a story behind it, but she didn’t dare ask.

They were silent for a little while. The doctor because she waited for Sophia to say something, and Sophia because she was busy asking herself what to do now.

Raising a child wouldn’t be the problem, neither would Anton be. He would be ecstatic, and that would still be the understatement of the century. But… the disease… what if her child would die?! Because she had been so careless? She couldn’t ask that! Never!

The silence must have lasted to long as the doctor cleared her throat. “Are you sure you are all right, Miss? You are rather pale; would you like a glass of water?”

She nodded, still quiet. The doctor disappeared and came back too quickly. She put down the glass. Sophia was too aware of her surroundings. The clock on the wall was too loud. What was she supposed to do?

“I will leave you alone. Stay here as long as you like. I’m right here when you need something.”

The doctor left the room, left Sophia alone with her thoughts. A tear made its way down her cheek.

She knew what she had to do but she couldn’t admit it to herself.

_Not yet._

*

Anton found Sophia in the library hours later.

Once he had heard of her return, he’d had every intend of going there immediately to check up on her but couldn’t make it until hours later. Now when it had gotten dark an hour ago, he was finally hurrying through the too long halls of the castle cursing under his breath. She must be thinking that he didn’t care about her at all!

She was sitting in one of the cosy armchairs standing in front of the fireplace, her legs tucked beneath her, a book in her lap. But she was staring into the flames.

She turned around and smiled when Anton placed his hands on her shoulders to massage them lightly. “I’m sorry I couldn’t come earlier, I did everything I cou-“

“Anton, it’s alright. I’m fine,” she interrupted him softly and leaned towards him. He beamed at her before he leaned down so she could kiss him. She sighed happily. “I missed you.”

“I missed you, too,” he replied wrapping his arms around her neck and placing his chin on her shoulder. “What did the doctor say?”

She shifted in her seat. “Like I told you I’m fine.” She turned her head to look at him. A smile formed on her lips. “Nothing to worry about.”

“Really?” He found that he couldn’t believe her for some reason. He wondered. She would never lie to him!

“Yes.”

He groaned relieved and hid his face in her neck. “Thank God. I was worried sick.”

He heard her quiet laugh. “See, it was all for nothing. You should listen to me more often.”

Anton joined her chuckling. “Maybe I should.” He kissed her cheek before he rounded the armchair to look at her properly. The shadows the fire casted long shadows which danced on her face and made her eyes gleam in a light he had never seen before. He crouched down before her, and Sophia closed her book. She ran a hand along the side of his face, looking at him as if she was seeing him for the last time before she leaned down to kiss him.

Anton practically melted into her kiss, her lips, her touch. Her book fell with a dull sound onto the carpet beneath them but neither of them noticed. Anton smiled when she sighed quietly and pulled him closer to which he happily obliged. It was a rather uncomfortable position he found himself in (and it must be just as funny to look at) but he couldn’t care less. Being together with his beloved… that was what he had always wished for.

He supported himself by placing his right hand on the armrest while his left grabbed Sophia by her waist to pull her closer to him. A surprised gasp left her lips yet not one of an unwelcoming surprise. He felt her hands slip from his cheeks and instead tangling themselves in his hair. He smiled, feeling hot all over. His thoughts were a mess, but he couldn’t bring himself to bother.

He was just about to lift her out of her armchair when the sound of the door opening echoed to the library. They immediately backed away from each other, Anton straightening himself again and running a hand through his now messy hair, and Sophia quickly picking up the book from the ground before she turned to where the steps were approaching.

Henrik, one of the servants, made his appearance. “Lord Herzen, Miss Sophia,” he greeted them politely, his hands clasped together behind his back. “Forgive me for bothering you, My Lord, but your father wishes to see you.”

“Now?” Anton frowned. “It’s almost eleven in the night!”

Henrik shrugged. “I only deliver the message, I don’t know it, My Lord.”

He looked at Sophia who shoved his shoulder lightly. “Come on, go. I’ll be waiting here for you.”

But she shook his head. “Henrik, please tell my father that I have already retired for the night, but I’ll be seeing him first thing in the morning if that is what he wishes.”

The man bowed his head. “I will do so, My Lord. I wish you a pleasant night. You too, Miss Sophia.”

“Good night, Henrik!”

They waited for the man to leave before they turned towards each other. “Anton, it could have been something important!” Sophia exclaimed while he was already wrapping his arms around her again.

“It can’t be more important than you. It was probably just something about money,” he replied. “Besides, I wanted to spend some time with you. I missed you.”

“I missed you too.” She sighed contently when his lips met hers again and soon, they parted breathlessly.

“Well, maybe we should leave this place before someone else will interrupt us, don’t you think so?”

“Good idea. How do I deserve you?” Anton murmured before he lifted her up. Sophia giggled, and he laughed as he carried her to her room and later, when they were lying next to each other he truly wondered how he had deserved finding such a wonderful human to spend his life with. He thought about the life they would have and the children that might be running around the castle one day.

And Sophia thought about the little live growing inside her, and about the fact that Anton would never get to see it.

*

It was a day like any other and yet like none before. Sophia looked around the bedroom she and Anton had shared for only such little time. She had cleared out all her things and had some of the servants carry her luggage to the carriage that would bring her to the train station. She couldn’t go back home. Once the disease had started spreading, her parents had gone ahead and moved out of Folsense to a little village close by. They had wanted to take their younger daughter with them, but Sophia had had to decline. _“I can’t,”_ she had said, _“I’m to be the Duchess of Folsense, I can’t just leave.”_

And now, she was doing exactly that. It was the reason she hadn’t told Anton anything. He couldn’t leave but he also wouldn’t. He would try convincing her to stay, tell her that they could do this together… but Sophia had seen the disease. It came suddenly, sometimes too suddenly to notice and took people’s lives mercilessly.

She placed a hand over her belly. She couldn’t ask that of her child. “I’m sorry, little one,” she whispered when a tear escaped her eyes. “But it is the best this way.”

She gasped and quickly brushed away the tear when she heard someone clearing his throat behind her. Henrik, an elderly man and one of her most trusted servants within this castle. “Miss Sophia, the carriage is ready for your… departure,” he said quietly. Sophia had come to like the man and saw that he couldn’t understand the decision yet felt sympathetic towards her. He knew she wouldn’t go without any good reason.

She nodded. “Thank you… is there something else?” He had averted his eyes and tapping his toes nervously.

“Uhm… Lord Herzen arrived mere minutes ago.”

Sophia tensed. Frantically she snatched the letter she had written to Anton from the table she had placed it on. She had chosen this day because she had known he would be out all day and written him a letter. But now…

“Alright.” She nodded. “I will talk to him. Would you wait for me by the carriage?”

Henrik’s face fell. Had he hoped Anton’s premature return would change her mind?

“Of course, Miss Sophia.”

He left the room ahead of her, and Sophia closed the door after one last look into the room. It hurt more than she had imagined when she had thought of this moment.

When she turned around, she caught something. Fredrich was standing on the other side of the hall watching her quietly. He shook his head disappointedly without saying anything, turned around and left once he noticed she had seen him. Sophia made a step into his direction, reaching out a hand, but stopped. He was already gone. What would she have been supposed to say anyway? She didn’t even know what to tell Anton.

 _“Try not to break his heart.”_ She heard the younger boy say in her head, back on that day she had spent in the castle’s garden with Anton. She gulped before she turned back around and descended the stairs. She met Anton halfway.

He hurried towards her, cupping her face frantically. “Sophia, dear, what is happening? Are you alright?” His eyes searched her face as if it could give him the answer he wanted to hear.

Sophia softly loosened his grip and took a small step backwards.

“Sophia?”

So, she told him what he didn’t want to hear.

“But… But you and I are betrothed!” he exclaimed agitated. “How can you just leave me here? I won’t have it!”

Sophia took a shivering breath. “This whole town is cursed. If we remain here, all those dear to me will die,” she explained as calmly as she could.

He shook his head. “Am I not dear to you, Sophia?”

_That hurt. More than he could imagine._

“Stay with me and we’ll rebuild Folsense together!”

No. She couldn’t ask that of her unborn child. “I’m sorry, Anton, but there is someone I love who needs me more than you.” She folded her hands in front of her belly. Would he understand?

No. He didn’t. He took a step back, his eyes widened, running his hands through his hair. He stared at her. “Is that the real reason you want to go? Because there is someone else?”

One couldn’t talk of wanting. But she couldn’t tell him that. So, she averted her eyes. “I’m sorry, Anton. Goodbye.”

She continued descending the stairs and leaving the castle without another glance back. She was sure Anton was still standing on the stairs, hands in his hair, trying to understand what had just happened. She must seem so heartless to him. She hoped it would make their breakup easier for him, so they wouldn’t both have to suffer.

Part of her hoped Anton would run after her, make her stay, and this part of her wanted to throw herself into his arms and tell him everything and make him leave with her.

The other part wanted him to stay exactly where he was so he wouldn’t make things harder for both of them.

They arrived at the train station too quickly. Sophia hoped for some miracle, that her train was delayed or cancelled or that Anton would come. But it didn’t happen, her train came, the two servants who had come with her helped store her luggage away and bid her farewell. Yet Sophia saw in their eyes that they couldn’t understand her actions.

She sat down and when the train pulled out the tears finally escaped their prison and ran down Sophia’s cheeks. She couldn’t do anything to stop them, not that she tried. She had held them back for so long, she knew there was no point in trying.

It wasn’t long before she opened the window and leaned out of it, looking back at the city and castle she had just left. Her left hand was clutching to the necklace Anton had given her. Her tears weren’t dried but swept away by the wind hitting her face hard while her heart was breaking into pieces. One remained within her, the other jumped out of the train and ran all the way back to the castle, to Anton whom she had left devastated.

 _I have done the right thing_ , she told herself as she sat back down. She placed a hand over her belly while she tried not to cry again.

_I have done the right thing._

*

Sophia didn’t get far. A few hours away from Folsense, she got off the train when it stopped close to a little group of houses.

 _“I’ll be leaving Folsense. I’ll probably settle down a few hours from here. If you ever need something, you’ll find me there. Send me a letter first though.”_ She remembered Donny’s words while she was getting off the train when a man was emerging from the group of houses and coming towards them.

“Sophia?”

“Donny!” She threw herself in his arms and cried again. She could hear him talk to the conductor, who had helped her with the luggage, but she couldn’t understand the words. She was just glad to see him.

“Hey, it’s alright, Sophie. Stop crying, please.” He just held her for some time until she had calmed down. “I got your letter. So, you… left him? Does he know about-”

“No,” she sobbed. “No, he doesn’t. I didn’t want to make it any harder… thank you I can stay here.”

“Of course! We’re building a new village here, you’ll be of great help, I know that!”

 

While Sophia was welcomed whole-heartedly by all villagers and being cared for by them, all Anton got to hear was, “See, Son? I told you she wasn’t the right one!”

*

Seven months later, the newly found village “Dropstone” got their first offspring.

By now, more and more people had come to the little village and helped building it with their own hands. All of them were getting along well and had been looking forward to the day the baby would come.

And when the time had come, every villager wanted to see the new baby. The little girl had a round face with striking blue eyes and a little bit of light hair on her head.

“What shall her name be?” Sophia had been asked often and soon, the villagers rose their cups and chanted the name of Iris Herzen, Dropstone’s first offspring.

*

Iris grew up to look and be like her father even though she had never known him.

Her light hair became a beautiful blond, and her eyes had soon after her birth turned into a striking emerald green. Whenever Sophia looked at her daughter, she felt like she was looking into Anton’s eyes.

“Why don’t I have a father? Every child has one. Where is mine?” she would ask once she’d gotten old enough to understand the basic concept of families. They were sitting in the garden of their tiny house, Sophia with a cup of tea, Iris with a stick in her hands. She was barely ever seen without one. Or mud covering her face and clothes. She loved to play sword-fighting with the boys in the village.

 “Your father… I had to leave him,” Sophia said and hoped it was enough to calm her daughter, but it, of course, wasn’t.

“Why? Was he mean to you?” Iris tilted her head. “Ben’s father was mean, that’s why he and his mother are here now.”

“No!” Sophia hurried to say. “No. Your father was… is the best man I could have ever met.”

“Then why did you leave him? I don’t understand.”

Sophia sighed. “It is very complicated, Iris. I wouldn’t have done it if there had been another way. I will explain it to you once you’re older, alright?”

She looked at the ground, rhythmically hitting it with the wooden stick in her hands. “Alright,” she murmured then but Sophia could feel that she was upset. “Can we meet him one day?”

“I don’t know.” She looked at the mountains in the distance behind which Folsense was. No day did pass without her thinking of Anton and what might have happened to him, what might be happening right now a few hours away from here. Was he happy? Had the disease stopped spreading? Had it taken him from this world as well? Did he miss her like she missed him?

She didn’t know.

She ran a hand along her daughter’s hairline to stroke some unruly strands out of her face. “Shall I tell you something about your father?”

Iris nodded eagerly. She couldn’t wait to hear about her father.

*

But she would never get to know her father.

Iris died at the age of 22 when she gave birth to her daughter. Beneath all the hurt, Sophia felt guilty that she had never let Anton know about their daughter, and never made it possible for Iris to meet him; it had been her dearest wish for all her life.

Her granddaughter Katia was just as beautiful. She had inherited Sophia’s purple hair once again, but it was straight like her father’s, not a single wave was in it. But her eyes were green, not as blazing as her mother’s but clearly green. And when she smiled, her smile… it was like looking into Anton’s face all over again.

She grew up being closer to her grandmother than anyone else as her father was gone because of his work often. But Sophia didn’t mind. Katia was her dearest treasure; she made the loss of Iris easier. But she would never fill the hole Iris had left behind.

Sophia told her many stories throughout her childhood, stories about her mother, about herself, about her grandfather. When Katia was fifteen, she asked, “Why have you never tried to visit him? I’m sure he would have been happy!”

Like Iris, Sophia had never told Katia the entire story either, so she couldn’t know. Anton wouldn’t be happy. He would be angry and sad and… and Sophia was afraid these images in her head were true, that he would really be angry at her for leaving.

She wouldn’t blame him.

*

49 years after Sophia had left Dropstone, she felt that her life was coming to an end.

She had lived long and happily but lately she found herself staring out of the window in the direction where Folsense was more and more often. Katia was worried about her, but she couldn’t bring herself to care.

“Grandmother?” she heard Katia saying like she was far away. “Something arrived for you. It looks… old and rich. Do you know this box?”

Sophia turned and jumped up when she saw the box. She made her way to the table Katia had placed it on as quickly as her age allowed her to. She carefully ran her fingers along the box which had contained the necklace she was wearing to this day.

It was empty but Anthony had once told her about the hidden safe the box had. Katia watched with big eyes how her grandmother opened it and took a letter from it. She saw how tears sprung to her eyes while reading.

“Is it from Grandfather? What does it say?” she wanted to know. Her grandmother smiled brightly.

“Let me tell you the story of your grandfather, Katia,” she said when she took of her necklace for the first time since Anton had given it to her. She stepped behind Katia and placed it around her neck. “I never got to tell it to your mother; I don’t want the same with you.”

*

Katia was on a mission to find the box again and get it to her grandfather. Her grandmother had barely passed away when it had been stolen in the dead of the night.

Leaving Dropstone wasn’t too much of a problem; nothing was holding her here. She and her father weren’t getting along anymore, and her grandmother was dead. Katia was glad she didn’t have to witness the box which was containing her letter being stolen anymore. It would have broken her heart. But Katia could manage. She would find the box, deliver it to her grandfather, and bring him home; only then, Dropstone would feel like home again. Maybe she could have a long talk with her father, but only afterwards.

*

Years later, she was standing in Dropstone, in front of a grave, her father next to her. She had fulfilled her grandmother’s last wish and brought her grandfather home. And alongside him, had found a big part of her family. Her Uncle Sammy and Great-Uncle Freddie were waiting back at home. This would only be a short visit.

She placed the Irises on the grave and looked up into the sky.

_“I hope you’re all happy up there.”_

And the Herzen Family smiled down at her as they watched her linking arms with her father and chatting happily.

*

_"While terror brought the box its notoriety, in the end, its most powerful message... was one of love."_

_– Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun Fact: Did you know "Herzen" is a form of "Heart" in German? :)


End file.
